Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Sep 5;22(1):682.
doi: 10.1186/s12884-022-04929-z.

Facilitators and barriers influencing weight management behaviours during pregnancy: a meta-synthesis of qualitative research

Tamara Escañuela Sánchez  1   2 , Sarah Meaney  3 , Caroline O'Connor  4   5 , Laura Linehan  4   5 , Keelin O'Donoghue  4   5 , Molly Byrne  6 , Karen Matvienko-Sikar  7
Affiliations

Facilitators and barriers influencing weight management behaviours during pregnancy: a meta-synthesis of qualitative research

Tamara Escañuela Sánchez et al. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. .

Abstract

Background: Obesity and overweight are considered risk factors for a range of adverse outcomes, including stillbirth. This study aims to identify factors reported by women influencing weight management behaviours during pregnancy.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted in five databases from inception to 2019 and updated in 2021. Qualitative studies involving pregnant or post-partum women, from high-income countries, examining women's experiences of weight management during pregnancy were included. Meta-ethnography was used to facilitate the meta-synthesis of 17 studies.

Results: Three themes were identified during the analysis: (1) Awareness and beliefs about weight gain and weight management, which included level of awareness and knowledge about dietary and exercise recommendations, risk perception and decision balance, perceived control over health and weight gain and personal insecurities. (2) Antenatal healthcare, women's experiences of their interactions with healthcare professionals during the antenatal period and the quality of the education received had an effect on women's behaviour. Further, our findings highlight the need for clear and direct information, and improved interactions with healthcare professionals, to better support women's weight management behaviours. (3) Social and environmental influence, the social judgement and stigmatization associated with overweight and obesity also acted as a negative influence in womens' engagement in weight management behaviours.

Conclusion: Interventions developed to promote and maintain weight management behaviours during pregnancy should consider all levels of influence over women's behaviours, including women's level of awareness and beliefs, experiences in antenatal care, education provision and social influence.

Keywords: Barriers; Behaviour change; Facilitators; Pregnancy; Weight management.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Not aplicable.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA Flow Diagram showing the process of inclusion of studies. From: Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, The PRISMA Group (2009). Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement. PLoS Med 6(7): e1000097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed1000097
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization. Obesity and Overweight. World Health Organization Fact Sheets (2020) 10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_447
    1. Marques A, Peralta M, Naia A, Loureiro N, De Matos MG. Prevalence of adult overweight and obesity in 20 European countries, 2014. Eur J Public Health. 2018;28:295–300. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckx143. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Department of Health and Children. Obesity – The policy challenges. Report of the National Taskforce on Obesity, 2005. Rep Natl Taskforce Obes. 1–132 (2005).
    1. Adamson L, et al. Women’s weight : Findings from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health: Report prepared for the Australian Goverenment Deparment of Health and Ageing. 2014.
    1. Voerman E, et al. Association of gestational weight gain with adverse maternal and infant outcomes. JAMA. 2019;321:1702–1715. doi: 10.1001/jama.2019.3820. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources