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Weight-related risk perception among healthy and overweight pregnant women: a cross-sectional study

Journal of Perinatology volume 35, pages 683–688 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective:

The objective of this study was to evaluate weight-related risk perception in early pregnancy and to compare this perception between women commencing pregnancy healthy weight and overweight.

Study design:

Pregnant women (n=664) aged 29±5 (mean±s.d.) years were recruited from a metropolitan teaching hospital in Australia. A self-administered questionnaire was completed at around 16 weeks of gestation. Height measured at baseline and self-reported pre-pregnancy weight were used to calculate body mass index. Cross-sectional analysis was conducted.

Differences between groups were assessed using chi-squared tests for categorical variables and t-tests or Mann–Whitney U tests for continuous variables depending on distribution.

Result:

Excess gestational weight gain (GWG) during pregnancy was more important in leading to health problems for women or their child compared with pre-pregnancy weight. Personal risk perception for complications was low for all women, although overweight women had slightly higher scores than healthy-weight women (2.4±1.0 vs 2.9±1.0; P<0.001). All women perceived their risk for complications to be below that of an average pregnant woman.

Conclusion:

Women should be informed of the risk associated with their pre-pregnancy weight (in the case of maternal overweight) and excess GWG. If efforts to raise risk awareness are to result in preventative action, this information needs to be accompanied by advice and appropriate support on how to reduce risk.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge New Beginnings Research staff and students for assistance with data collection, RBWH maternity outpatients’ staff for recruitment support and the women who participated. The authors are grateful to Dr Kimberley Mallan for feedback on statistical analysis for this manuscript. Project funding was provided by the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) Foundation for the New Beginnings Healthy Mothers and Babies Study, RBWH Research Advisory Committee and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) provided PhD Scholarship funding (SJdeJ 1017169), JMN is funded by the Roberta Holmes Chair for the Transition to Contemporary Parenthood Program.

Author Contributions

SJdeJ conceived and designed the study with support from LKC, LAD and JMN. SJdeJ collected the data and performed the analysis. All authors contributed to the interpretation of results, drafting of the manuscript and approved the final manuscript for submission.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Herston, QLD, Australia

    S J de Jersey

  2. School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD, Australia

    S J de Jersey & L A Daniels

  3. Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital Clinical School, School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Herston, QLD, Australia

    L K Callaway

  4. Department of Internal Medicine, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Herston, QLD, Australia

    L K Callaway

  5. Judith Lumley Centre, School of Nursing and Midwifery, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Vic, Australia

    J M Nicholson

  6. Centre for Learning Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD, Australia

    J M Nicholson

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  1. S J de Jersey
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to S J de Jersey.

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Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the Journal of Perinatology website .

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de Jersey, S., Callaway, L., Daniels, L. et al. Weight-related risk perception among healthy and overweight pregnant women: a cross-sectional study. J Perinatol 35, 683–688 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2015.57

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