Funding outcome

Research has shown that a woman's weight gain in pregnancy can predict the future health of a mother and her child. Improving the health of a mother during pregnancy can lead to the best health outcomes for mother and child in the short and long-term period. Currently, there is a lack of understanding about how best to support women to achieve healthy weights during pregnancy. The aim of this study is to assess if additional lifestyle support, through discussions about healthy eating and physical activity with a Registered Dietitian (RD) throughout pregnancy can help women achieve weights concordant with gestational recommendations. This study currently has an 'intervention group' (who meet with an RD for detailed discussions) and an'active' control group (who meet with an RD to complete questionnaires and answer only specific questions raised by the participant). This next part of the study will recruit women who have not seen an RD at all during pregnancy and received on standard prenatal care just with their Family Physician and/or Ob-GYN. We will assess women's level of satisfaction with the prenatal care they received and compare this to the women who received the extra support (i.e., met with a Registered Dietitian) during pregnancy. We will also compare the pregnancy-related weight gain amounts and patterns among all 3 groups of women, along with some of the outcomes of their pregnancy such as baby birth weight and delivery complications. We hope to better understand how the quantity and quality of additional prenatal support that may help women in Alberta achieve weight gains that correspond to Health Canada's recommendations during pregnancy. This information is also aimed at providing a better understanding of health care system requirements (i.e., type of providers and care model) in supporting women to achieve healthy weights in pregnancy. The findings from this project have the potential to help improve prenatal health care delivery across the province