Exploring the issue of weight management in pregnancy
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An exploration of the attitudes and opinions of healthcare professionals and pregnant women towards factors influencing weight management before, during and after pregnancy.
IRAS ID
155145
Contact name
Michelle McKinley
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen's University Belfast
Research summary
Excess weight gain in pregnancy is linked to serious health consequences for both mother and child, and also poses particular challenges for healthcare providers involved in their care. Being overweight or obese before conceiving is associated with adverse consequences in pregnancy and, furthermore, postpartum weight retention is associated with long term obesity and potential adverse effects on subsequent pregnancies. There are currently no UK guidelines on safe weight gain ranges in pregnancy, and data on weight gain throughout pregnancy are not routinely collected in the UK. Re-introduction of routine weighing during pregnancy would help to provide UK-relevant data on safe weight gain ranges during pregnancy. However, before instigating any change in current antenatal practice it is important to engage with pregnant women and healthcare professionals in order to ensure any changes to weighing practices, or other related interventions to improve both preconceptual and postnatal health, are acceptable. Using questionnaires and interviews, this project will explore the opinions and attitudes of women and healthcare professionals towards factors which influence weight management before, during and after pregnancy, and will also explore their views of regular weighing during pregnancy. It is anticipated this will aid the development of a pilot study of regular weighing throughout pregnancy in a region of Northern Ireland, and will also help to inform an exploratory study into potential avenues for preconceptual education on weight management.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/SC/1141
Date of REC Opinion
24 Jul 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion