School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK.
Patient and Public Involvement Representative, Member of the Public, Serviceuser of Mamafit intervention, Liverpool, UK.
Health Expect. 2022 Aug;25(4):1717-1729. doi: 10.1111/hex.13514. Epub 2022 May 5.
Weight gain is inevitable during pregnancy. However, high prepregnancy body mass index and excessive gestational weight gain are associated with poor pregnancy outcomes. Understanding the experiences, social influences and decisions women make to maintain a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy are essential to consider how to improve services and interventions to help women engage in a healthy diet and physical activity (PA) behaviours.
The study investigated women's opinions and lived experiences of engaging in a healthy diet, promoting optimal gestational weight gain and PA during and after pregnancy.
Twenty-two pregnant women contributed to qualitative data collection for this Grounded Theory (GT) study. Nineteen women completed semi-structured interviews and three patient and public involvement (PPI) representatives sought to validate the analysis and GT framework.
Two substantive categories were constructed: (1) Evolving from 'I' to 'we', as informed by two subcategories and (2) the power of information and guidance, as informed by three subcategories. These categories informed the core category, 'A navigational journey and evolution of the pregnant self'. The navigational journey involves constantly searching for knowledge and information to support and balance the interests of personal beliefs, the health of their unborn baby, their social circle and the wider world. A woman's psychological capability (e.g., their knowledge of a healthy lifestyle and confidence to implement such knowledge) is continuously tested.
Pregnancy may create a 'teachable moment' but there is a need for appropriate guidance from professionals to assist with lifestyle choices during pregnancy. The findings showed a significant influence of online resources, and lack of guidance on behaviour during pregnancy and may highlight areas of focus for future research and intervention.
Three pregnant women were recruited to act as PPI representatives to assist with the validation of the analytical findings and aid the final theoretical saturation of the GT framework. Commentary from these PPI representatives was used to validate the analysis and support the interpretation of the data. In addition, these PPI representatives were also invited to provide commentary on the draft manuscript and those involved in this later process have been included as coauthors.
怀孕期间体重增加是不可避免的。然而，较高的孕前体重指数和过多的妊娠体重增加与不良妊娠结局有关。了解女性在怀孕期间保持健康生活方式的经验、社会影响和决策，对于考虑如何改善服务和干预措施以帮助女性参与健康饮食和体育活动（PA）行为至关重要。
本研究调查了女性在怀孕期间参与健康饮食、促进最佳妊娠体重增加和 PA 的意见和生活体验。
22 名孕妇为这项扎根理论（GT）研究提供了定性数据。19 名女性完成了半结构化访谈，3 名患者和公众参与（PPI）代表试图验证分析和 GT 框架。
构建了两个实质性类别：（1）从“我”到“我们”的演变，由两个子类别说明，以及（2）信息和指导的力量，由三个子类别说明。这些类别构成了核心类别“孕妇自我的导航之旅和演变”。导航之旅涉及不断寻找知识和信息，以支持和平衡个人信仰、未出生婴儿健康、社交圈和更广泛的世界的利益。女性的心理能力（例如，对健康生活方式的了解和实施此类知识的信心）不断受到考验。
怀孕可能会创造一个“可教时刻”，但需要专业人员提供适当的指导，以帮助她们在怀孕期间做出生活方式选择。研究结果表明，在线资源具有显著影响，而在怀孕期间缺乏关于行为的指导，这可能突出了未来研究和干预的重点领域。
招募了 3 名孕妇作为 PPI 代表，以协助验证分析结果，并帮助扎根理论框架的最终理论饱和。这些 PPI 代表的评论被用于验证分析并支持对数据的解释。此外，还邀请这些 PPI 代表对稿件草稿发表意见，参与这一后续过程的代表被列为共同作者。
