A text messaging service to support weight management in women who areobese during pregnancy
Around 20% of pregnant women in the UK are obese, and pre-pregnancy obesity is associated with increased health risks for both the mother and child. There is a lack of clear guidance for the management of maternal obesity in the UK and a need for further research to understand how to support behaviour change within this population. Text-messages have previously been found to support weight loss, but have not previously been used with pregnant women. We designed a text-message based intervention, involving both pregnant women and midwives in the design, and then evaluated the intervention in pregnant women with obesity.
What we did
Focus groups were conducted with pregnant women and midwives to explore their beliefs and views about what kind of support they wanted and what they thought about using text messages as support for weight management in pregnancy. The findings from these focus groups then informed the development and content of text messages to be delivered to pregnant women. Both pregnant women and midwives held positive views and were enthusiastic about the use of text messages for health promotion. This information and the research team’s theoretical knowledge aided the design of a complex intervention focusing upon promoting a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy.
A study was then conducted to evaluate the text messaging intervention to promote healthy weight duringpregnancy. Obese pregnant women were asked to attend consultations with a midwife to discuss their diet and activity levels, before setting themselves a healthy eating and/or physical activity goal. Between consultations participants received daily text messages related to their chosen goal(s) and kept a food and/or physical activity diary.
What we found
Pregnant women who received the MOMTech intervention gained less weight during pregnancy (mean of 5.6kg) than women in the control condition (9.7kg). Only 28% of women receiving the intervention exceeded the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) recommended pregnancy weight gain guidance compared to 50% in the control group.
Implications of the research
Pregnant women who received the MOMTech intervention gained less weight during pregnancy (mean of 5.6kg) than women in the control condition (9.7kg). Only 28% of women receiving the intervention exceeded the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) recommended pregnancy weight gain guidance compared to 50% in the control group.
Publications:
- Soltani, H., Furness, P. J., Arden, M. A., McSeveny, K., Garland, C., Sustar, H., & Dearden, A. (2012). Women’s and midwives’ perspectives on the design of a text messaging support for maternal obesity services: An exploratory study
Journal of obesity, 2012. - Soltani, H., Duxbury, A., Arden, M. A., Dearden, A., Furness, P. J., & Garland, C. (2015). Maternal obesity management using mobile technology: a feasibility study to evaluate a text messaging based complex intervention during pregnancy.
Journal of obesity, 2015.
Key Authors:
