Abstract
Background/Objectives
A healthy dietary intake during pregnancy is important for maternal and child health. Midwives play an important role in supporting pregnant women to choose a healthy dietary intake, but their advice is often presented in very general terms and primarily focused on food safety issues only. To encourage pregnant women for a healthy dietary intake, it is crucial to gain in-depth understanding of pregnant women’s perspectives of food and eating, perspectives of midwives and dieticians and opportunities for empowerment. The aim was to develop an empowerment strategy for a healthy dietary intake during pregnancy.
Methods
An iterative process was used to develop the strategy: literature study, questionnaires among pregnant women (n=52) and dieticians (n=124); in-depth interviews with pregnant women (n=27), midwives (n=20), dieticians (n=13); three focus groups with midwives (n=12), two with dieticians (n=17) and two with pregnant women (n=6); three pressure cooker sessions with various stakeholders (n=30) and individual and group discussions with professionals (n=12).
Results
Opportunities for empowerment were searching balanced and personalized information, developing strategies to implement healthy diets, navigating the social environment, and dealing with different motivations. These were included in the Power 4 a Healthy Pregnancy (P4HP) strategy, as well as issues (practical and content-related) raised by stakeholders. The P4HP consists of three (extra) consultations with the midwife and one with the dietician to specifically discuss the pregnant women’s diet and seek for opportunities for empowerment for a healthy dietary intake.
Discussion
Pregnant women and other stakeholders hold diverse perspectives regarding food and eating, signalling the need for a flexible and tailored empowerment strategy. The P4HP supports midwives and dieticians to optimize pregnant women’s empowerment processes to make healthy modifications to their dietary intake. The P4HP strategy will be implemented in the Netherlands and evaluated on processes and outcomes related to empowerment and dietary intake.
A healthy dietary intake during pregnancy is important for maternal and child health. Midwives play an important role in supporting pregnant women to choose a healthy dietary intake, but their advice is often presented in very general terms and primarily focused on food safety issues only. To encourage pregnant women for a healthy dietary intake, it is crucial to gain in-depth understanding of pregnant women’s perspectives of food and eating, perspectives of midwives and dieticians and opportunities for empowerment. The aim was to develop an empowerment strategy for a healthy dietary intake during pregnancy.
Methods
An iterative process was used to develop the strategy: literature study, questionnaires among pregnant women (n=52) and dieticians (n=124); in-depth interviews with pregnant women (n=27), midwives (n=20), dieticians (n=13); three focus groups with midwives (n=12), two with dieticians (n=17) and two with pregnant women (n=6); three pressure cooker sessions with various stakeholders (n=30) and individual and group discussions with professionals (n=12).
Results
Opportunities for empowerment were searching balanced and personalized information, developing strategies to implement healthy diets, navigating the social environment, and dealing with different motivations. These were included in the Power 4 a Healthy Pregnancy (P4HP) strategy, as well as issues (practical and content-related) raised by stakeholders. The P4HP consists of three (extra) consultations with the midwife and one with the dietician to specifically discuss the pregnant women’s diet and seek for opportunities for empowerment for a healthy dietary intake.
Discussion
Pregnant women and other stakeholders hold diverse perspectives regarding food and eating, signalling the need for a flexible and tailored empowerment strategy. The P4HP supports midwives and dieticians to optimize pregnant women’s empowerment processes to make healthy modifications to their dietary intake. The P4HP strategy will be implemented in the Netherlands and evaluated on processes and outcomes related to empowerment and dietary intake.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 16 May 2022 |
| Event | 24th World Conference on Health Promotion of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE): Promoting policies for health, well-being and equity - Montreal, Canada Duration: 15 May 2022 → 19 May 2022 https://iuhpe2022.com/ |
Conference/symposium
| Conference/symposium | 24th World Conference on Health Promotion of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE) |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Canada |
| City | Montreal |
| Period | 15/05/22 → 19/05/22 |
| Internet address |
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