Padmanabhan Uma, Summerbell Carolyn D, Heslehurst Nicola
Health and Social Care Research Institute, School of Health and Social Care, Teesside University, Teesside, TS1 3BA, UK.
School of Medicine, Pharmacy and Health, Durham University, Queen's Campus, Stockton-on-Tees, TS17 6BH, UK.
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2015 Apr 22;15:99. doi: 10.1186/s12884-015-0522-3.
There is little information on the individual cognitive, perceptual and psychosocial factors that influence the lifestyle behaviours of pregnant women. This study explored pregnant women's weight-related attitudes and beliefs during pregnancy.
Nineteen pregnant women with different pre-pregnancy BMIs and in their third trimester were purposefully sampled for face-to-face interviews. Topics covered included lifestyles, sources of information, feelings about their bodies, and level of control over themselves and their bodies. Systematic thematic content analysis was used to identify recurrent themes.
Women perceived their bodies as fragmented into 'my pregnancy' (the bump) and 'me' (rest of my body). This fragmentation was the key driver of their weight-related attitudes and beliefs and influenced their dietary and physical activity behaviours. Consuming healthy foods was necessary for 'my pregnancy' to provide the ideal gestational environment. Simultaneously, pregnancy was perceived as a time to relax previously set rigid rules around diet and physical activity, allowing women to consume unhealthy foods and lead sedentary lifestyles. Women faced emotional conflicts between limiting weight gain for 'me', and being perceived as acting morally by gaining enough weight for 'baby'. Although 'bump' related weight gain was acceptable, weight gain in other parts of their body was viewed negatively and implied lack of self-control. Conflict was often alleviated, and weight-related behaviours validated, by seeking practical and reputable information for weight management. Women felt that their midwives provided detailed information on what they should not do during pregnancy, but were rarely given information about what they should do in relation to diet and physical activity for weight management. Consequently, women often used information from a variety of sources which they filtered using 'common sense'.
This study has identified that a central concept to pregnant women's diet and physical activity beliefs during pregnancy is the fragmentation of self into 'me' and 'my pregnancy'. This fragmentation influenced beliefs about diet and physical activity, and control and acceptability of gestation weight gain on different parts of the body. Future interventions and antenatal care should take this fragmentation into consideration when providing pregnant women with advice, information and support relating to their diet and physical activity behaviours.
关于影响孕妇生活方式行为的个体认知、感知和社会心理因素的信息较少。本研究探讨了孕妇孕期与体重相关的态度和信念。
有目的地抽取了19名孕晚期、孕前体重指数不同的孕妇进行面对面访谈。涵盖的主题包括生活方式、信息来源、对自己身体的感受以及对自己和身体的控制程度。采用系统的主题内容分析法来识别反复出现的主题。
女性将自己的身体视为分为“我的孕期”（肚子）和“我”（身体的其他部分）两部分。这种身体的划分是她们与体重相关的态度和信念的关键驱动因素，并影响了她们的饮食和身体活动行为。为“我的孕期”提供理想的妊娠环境需要食用健康食品。同时，怀孕被视为一个放松之前对饮食和身体活动设定的严格规则的时期，这使得女性可以食用不健康食品并采取久坐不动的生活方式。女性在为“我”限制体重增加与因给“宝宝”增加足够体重而被视为道德行事之间面临情感冲突。尽管与“肚子”相关的体重增加是可以接受的，但身体其他部位的体重增加被视为负面的，意味着缺乏自我控制。通过寻求关于体重管理的实用且可靠的信息，冲突往往得到缓解，与体重相关的行为也得到了认可。女性觉得她们的助产士提供了关于孕期不应做什么的详细信息，但很少得到关于在饮食和身体活动方面为体重管理应该做什么的信息。因此，女性经常使用来自各种来源的信息，并通过“常识”进行筛选。
本研究确定，孕妇孕期饮食和身体活动信念的一个核心概念是自我分为“我”和“我的孕期”。这种划分影响了对饮食和身体活动的信念，以及对身体不同部位孕期体重增加的控制和可接受性。未来的干预措施和产前护理在为孕妇提供与饮食和身体活动行为相关的建议、信息和支持时，应考虑到这种划分。
