An observational study of nutrition and physical activity behaviours, knowledge, and advice in pregnancy

Falling Short of Guidelines? Nutrition and Weight Gain Knowledge in Pregnancy

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to characterize pregnant women's gestational weight gain (GWG) knowledge and awareness of healthy eating behaviors known to impact GWG.

METHODS

Formative research was conducted including semi-structured individual interviews and focus group interviews. The participants were mostly Caucasian pregnant women (N = 30; Mage = 28 years old) residing in a suburban/rural region of Central Pennsylvania. Descriptive and thematic analyses were used to examine the primary outcomes of GWG and healthy eating knowledge and informational sources.

RESULTS

Many women had no knowledge of how much GWG they should gain in pregnancy (42%). Women appeared to have adequate knowledge on foods they should avoid eating during pregnancy. However, one-fourth of women indicated that they did not feel as though they received adequate information from their healthcare provider about the foods they should be eating and how to meet the healthy eating recommendations. Therefore, one-fourth of women reported using non-healthcare provider resources (e.g., magazines, internet) with questionable reliability to obtain healthy eating guidance.

CONCLUSION

These exploratory findings show that pregnant women have some knowledge of the GWG and healthy eating guidelines; however, most women received this information from a non-healthcare provider resource. Focused efforts are needed to educate pregnant women about GWG and healthy eating using accurate and reliable sources andencourage strategies to meet guidelines in an effort to promote healthy GWG.

A Review of Pioneer Physicians' Work on Maternal Health in Pregnancy in Ancient Iran; Narrative Systematic Review

Background Maternal lifestyle and behaviors during pregnancy have been associated with future health outcomes for mothers and babies. Iranian Traditional medicine, which is a holistically-oriented medical discipline, has special attitudes towards pregnancy. The purpose of the study is the investigation of maternal health in medical books of ancient Iran. This study is a systematic review scrutinizing issues concerning lifestyle during pregnancy based on "Avicenna's Canon medicine" and "Rhazes Al-Havi" and for complete discussion, other reliable sources in traditional medicine which was conducted following the categorization and analysis of the gleaned data. Based on approaches by Iranian Traditional Medicine, the most important topics in lifestyle habits during pregnancy are divided into four main groups: Nutrition, physical exercise, sexual activity and psychological stress. Then special recommendations are suggested which include a regimen to facilitate labor. Eating behaviors and other lifestyle habits have a major role in optimizing the health of women in pregnancy. Regarding to traditional medicine viewpoints paying special attention to correcting diet, life style and preventive attitude with effective and simple therapeutic procedures, it seems that traditional medicine can offer efficient managements to alleviate some pregnancy complications.