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Women's perspectives are required to inform the development of maternal obesity services: a qualitative study of obese pregnant women's experiences

Heslehurst, N.; Russell, S.; Brandon, H.; Johnston, C.; Summerbell, C.; Rankin, J.

Women's perspectives are required to inform the development of maternal obesity services: a qualitative study of obese pregnant women's experiences Thumbnail


Authors

N. Heslehurst

S. Russell

H. Brandon

C. Johnston

J. Rankin



Abstract

BACKGROUND: Increasing maternal obesity trends and accompanying risks have led to the development of guidelines internationally. However, the evidence-base is poor for effective intervention, and there is a lack of representation from the perspective of obese pregnant women in guidelines. Women's engagement with weight management support services is low. OBJECTIVE: To explore obese pregnant women's experiences to better understand factors which need to be considered when developing services that women will find acceptable and utilize. POPULATION: Obese women referred to an antenatal dietetic service in the Northeast of England, UK. METHODS: Low-structured depth-interviews allowed women to freely discuss their own experiences. Discussion prompts were included; however, issues that women raised were explored thoroughly. Women summarized what they considered most important to ensure the analyses placed appropriate emphasis on factors women perceived as important. Thematic analysis identified common themes. Saturation was confirmed after 15 interviews. RESULTS: Key issues included: women's weight; families; experience of negativity; and priorities and desired outcomes. These combined represented women's perspectives of issues which they considered important and integral to their lived experience of being obese and pregnant. The theme incorporates women's pregnancy-related experiences, as well as life experiences which contributed to how they felt about their weight during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: There are strong associations with women's lived experiences and engagement with antenatal weight management services. Incorporating women's perspectives in the development of these services could encourage engagement by focussing on women's priorities and motivations, while taking into consideration their socially related experiences in addition to their clinical health needs.

Citation

Heslehurst, N., Russell, S., Brandon, H., Johnston, C., Summerbell, C., & Rankin, J. (2015). Women's perspectives are required to inform the development of maternal obesity services: a qualitative study of obese pregnant women's experiences. Health Expectations, 18(5), 969-981. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.12070

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 29, 2013
Publication Date Oct 1, 2015
Deposit Date Nov 23, 2015
Publicly Available Date Jan 19, 2016
Journal Health Expectations
Print ISSN 1369-6513
Electronic ISSN 1369-7625
Publisher Wiley Open Access
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 18
Issue 5
Pages 969-981
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.12070
Keywords Experiences, Maternal, Obesity, Pregnancy, Qualitative.
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1426425

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Copyright Statement
This is the accepted version of the following article: Heslehurst, N., Russell, S., Brandon, H., Johnston, C., Summerbell, C. and Rankin, J. (2015), Women's perspectives are required to inform the development of maternal obesity services: a qualitative study of obese pregnant women's experiences. Health Expectations, 18(5): 969-981, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/hex.12070. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.





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