TY - JOUR
T1 - How do women feel about being weighed during pregnancy? A qualitative exploration of the opinions and experiences of postnatal women
AU - Allen-Walker, Virginia
AU - Mullaney, Laura
AU - Turner, Michael J.
AU - Woodside, Jayne V.
AU - Holmes, Valerie A.
AU - McCartney, Daniel MA
AU - McKinley, Michelle C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2017/6
Y1 - 2017/6
N2 - Objective to explore routine weighing in antenatal care and weight management in pregnancy with women who have been weighed during pregnancy. Design a qualitative study utilising semi-structured telephone interviews, and thematic analysis. Setting participants resided in Dublin, Ireland and had been weighed during pregnancy. Participants individual telephone interviews conducted with ten postpartum women (nine months postpartum). Findings experiences of routine weighing were positive, and participants believed it should be part of standard antenatal care. Several benefits to routine weighing were cited, including providing reassurance and minimising postpartum weight retention. It was felt that there was a lack of information provided on gestational weight gain and healthy lifestyle in pregnancy, and that healthcare professionals are ideally placed to provide this advice. Increased information provision was seen as a method to improve healthy lifestyle behaviours in pregnancy. Key conclusions and implications for practice these findings contribute to the current debate about the re-introduction of routine weighing throughout pregnancy (Allen-Walker et al., 2016). Women stated that they expected to be weighed during pregnancy and, contrary to previous claims, there was no evidence that routine weighing during antenatal care caused anxiety. From discussions it was clear that women desired more information on gestational weight gain and a healthy lifestyle, and felt that health professionals should provide this.
AB - Objective to explore routine weighing in antenatal care and weight management in pregnancy with women who have been weighed during pregnancy. Design a qualitative study utilising semi-structured telephone interviews, and thematic analysis. Setting participants resided in Dublin, Ireland and had been weighed during pregnancy. Participants individual telephone interviews conducted with ten postpartum women (nine months postpartum). Findings experiences of routine weighing were positive, and participants believed it should be part of standard antenatal care. Several benefits to routine weighing were cited, including providing reassurance and minimising postpartum weight retention. It was felt that there was a lack of information provided on gestational weight gain and healthy lifestyle in pregnancy, and that healthcare professionals are ideally placed to provide this advice. Increased information provision was seen as a method to improve healthy lifestyle behaviours in pregnancy. Key conclusions and implications for practice these findings contribute to the current debate about the re-introduction of routine weighing throughout pregnancy (Allen-Walker et al., 2016). Women stated that they expected to be weighed during pregnancy and, contrary to previous claims, there was no evidence that routine weighing during antenatal care caused anxiety. From discussions it was clear that women desired more information on gestational weight gain and a healthy lifestyle, and felt that health professionals should provide this.
KW - Gestational weight gain
KW - Opinions
KW - Pregnancy
KW - Qualitative
KW - Weighing
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85008506369&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.midw.2016.12.006
DO - 10.1016/j.midw.2016.12.006
M3 - Article
C2 - 28063622
AN - SCOPUS:85008506369
SN - 0266-6138
VL - 49
SP - 95
EP - 101
JO - Midwifery
JF - Midwifery
ER -