Experiences accompanying postpartum weight loss: benefits, successes, and well-being.

Obesity is a growing problem in the United States, and research has supported the theory that pregnancy contributes to long-term weight gain. This phenomenological study investigated the postpartum weight loss experiences of 24 women. Women ranged in age from 25 to 35 years, were mostly Caucasian with adequate resources, and about half worked either full or part time. Women described both positive and negative experiences associated with weight loss. Themes included issues related to exercise, weight struggles, pregnancy contributions to weight gain, eating, breastfeeding, motivation for weight loss, time issues, miscellaneous struggles, realizing benefits, social support, quick weight loss, personal well-being, and successes. The overarching theme that represents these women's experiences was the need to balance weight loss activity with other responsibilities, which resulted in challenges and triumphs in women's pursuit of returning to their prepregnancy weights. Realizing benefits, successes, and personal well-being are addressed in this article.

Postpartum weight loss: weight struggles, eating, exercise, and breast-feeding.

Twenty-four women with children 5 years old or younger were interviewed regarding their experiences in losing weight during the postpartum period. Phenomenological interviews were conducted according to Husserl's perspective. Women who participated in the study revealed the issues related to postpartum weight loss: weight struggles, exercise, breast-feeding, eating, and pregnancy contributions to weight gain. The overall theme that resulted from these in-depth interviews was that women struggle to balance their successes and setbacks in losing weight during the postpartum period.

Men's Perceptions of Pregnancy-Related Weight Gain: A Psychosocial Firestorm (Upheaval) Intertwined With Supportive Intentions.

In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 men who had a significant other who had given birth within the last 5 years. Men were asked about their perceptions of pregnancy-related weight gain, and content analysis was used to identify themes from the interviews. Men described nine themes related to perinatal weight gain: (a) negative perceptions, (b) eating behaviors, (c) exercise habits, (d) health impact, (e) body changes, (f) weight-loss success, (g) "it bothered her more than me," (h) "the weight gain wasn't a problem," and (i) intimacy. Together, these themes offer a glimpse into men's experiences and highlight the discord and balance between experiencing negative feelings/perceptions and being a supportive partner. This information on how men perceive pregnancy-related weight gain can be used to develop interventions to assist men to support their significant others in meeting weight loss goals following pregnancy.

Women's challenges with postpartum weight loss.

UNLABELLED: This study was designed to examine women's experiences of weight loss during the postpartum period. Understanding women's positive and negative experiences can assist health care providers to successfully intervene in helping women lose weight following pregnancy and avoid long-term weight gain and obesity development. DESIGN: Phenomenology, according to Husserl's perspective. SETTING: Private location of the women's choosing. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-six women, who ranged in age from 25 to 35 years, and had given birth within the last 5 years, were interviewed regarding their experiences with postpartum weight loss. The majority of the sample was Caucasian. Interviews were transcribed and themes were identified from each of the interviews. Comparisons were made between interviews to identify common experiences between women. Data were analyzed according to the Giorgi method. The women in the study had a wide range of experiences. Themes that emerged from the interviews related to women's challenges with return to prepregnancy weight. These included: time and motivation issues, the need for support, and weight and other struggles. This study provides a look inside the lives of women faced with the reality of losing weight after childbirth. Losing weight after delivery is multi-faceted and influenced by many factors. Interventions to assist women with weight loss should target the challenges described in this paper. When effective strategies are developed, education can be done during pregnancy to prepare for the postpartum period. Ultimately, future research efforts can help us to eliminate pregnancy as a risk factor for obesity in women.

Maternal obesity from all sides.

This column features excerpts from a recent series of articles from the Lamaze International research blog, Science & Sensibility. The eight-part series examined the issue of maternal obesity from various perspectives, incorporating writings from Kimmelin Hull, a physician assistant, a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator, and the community manager of Science & Sensibility; Kristen Montgomery, a nursing professor at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte; Pamela Vireday, a childbirth educator and blogger; and Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, a health psychologist, lactation consultant, and writer/speaker. The authors of the blog series, titled "Maternal Obesity from All Sides," reviewed current research about risks associated with maternal obesity as well as the humanistic issues and lived experiences of pregnant women of size.

Women's Desire for Pregnancy.

Descriptive qualitative interviews were conducted with 16 women who had given birth in the previous 5 years to identify factors that influenced their desire to become pregnant. All interviews were audiotaped. Following the interviews, the texts were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Giorgi's method. Five themes emerged from the interviews: (1) timing; (2) spacing; (3) meeting personal criteria; (4) desire for the experience of pregnancy, birth, and parenting; and (5) extended family in close proximity. The study's findings offer an initial step in understanding the attitudes, motivations, and beliefs of healthy childbearing women and their desire for pregnancy. Increased understanding may help health-care providers develop interventions that not only assist women to conceive as desired but also prevent unplanned pregnancies.

Does relaxation education in anxious primigravid Iranian women influence adverse pregnancy outcomes?: a randomized controlled trial.

UNLABELLED: Maternal anxiety and stress are found to be predictors of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including low birth weight and prematurity. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine whether relaxation education in anxious pregnant Iranian women in their first pregnancy affects selected pregnancy outcomes, including birth weight, preterm birth, and surgical delivery rate. SUBJECTS: A total of 110 obstetrically and medically low-risk primigravid women in Iran with a high anxiety level demonstrated by Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. METHOD: In this randomized controlled trial, the experimental group received routine prenatal care along with 7-week applied relaxation training sessions, while the control group received only routine prenatal care. Anxiety and perceived stress were measured by pre-educational and post-educational intervention. Data related to pregnancy outcomes include birth weight, gestational age at birth, and type of delivery. RESULTS: Significant reductions in low birth weight, cesarean section, and/or instrumental extraction were found in the experimental group compared with the control group. No significant differences were found in the rate of preterm birth. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest beneficial effects of nurse-led relaxation education sessions during the prenatal period. This intervention could serve as a resource for improving pregnancy outcomes in women with high anxiety.

Continuing education module-maternal calcium intake and metabolism during pregnancy and lactation.

Calcium is an essential nutrient during pregnancy and lactation. Calcium contributes to bone development in the fetus and neonate and is considered a critical nutrient. Physiological changes in calcium metabolism occur during pregnancy and lactation. Some women may lose some of their bone density during pregnancy and/or lactation, and then regain it after the cessation of lactation. Implications for childbirth educators include content regarding the topic of calcium in their classes.

Childbirth education for multiple pregnancy: part 1: prenatal considerations.

Women with a multiple pregnancy have unique learning needs in preparing for birth. This paper explores the issues relevant to women with a multiple pregnancy to support a positive birth experience. One of the foundations of childbirth education and nursing care is to provide the individual woman and her family with knowledge regarding the birth process, what to expect, and how to cope with labor and birth. Education also focuses on caring for the newborns after birth and how to manage in the early days at home. However, traditional childbirth education classes, which meet in a series of evenings or Saturdays, may not meet the needs of women with a multiple pregnancy. In addition, because of the differences in care that exist for women with a multiple pregnancy, new paradigms for childbirth education are needed to meet the learning needs of these families. The purpose of this paper is to provide information to the childbirth educator on the differences in care women with a multiple pregnancy can expect and to suggest strategies to meet the childbirth education needs of these families.

Childbirth education for multiple pregnancy: part 2: intrapartum and postpartum considerations.

Women with a multiple pregnancy can expect a different labor and birth course than those with a singleton pregnancy. While the postpartum period is similar to that of families with a singleton, it is likely to be more hectic in families with multiple infants. In addition, a multiple pregnancy increases both maternal and neonatal risks; therefore, women with a multiple pregnancy may experience slight differences in care due to these potential risks, including additional monitoring and treatment. This article discusses the intrapartum and postpartum considerations families with a multiple pregnancy/birth may experience. This information is provided so that the childbirth educator can incorporate this content into courses, as appropriate, and assist families with a multiple pregnancy to anticipate a realistic birth and postpartum experience.

Web Sites that Address Prematurity.

Families of preterm infants need a tremendous amount of support. This resource column highlights several Web sites that may be useful to health care providers and childbirth educators, as well as to parents of premature infants and their families.

New Resource from the CDC to Prevent Obesity: Perinatal Implications.

Research has identified pregnancy as a trigger to obesity among women; therefore, childbirth educators are encouraged to include the topic of weight gain in their classes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently published a guide on obesity that may serve as an excellent resource for both educators and their clients.

Planned adolescent pregnancy: themes related to the pregnancy.

Health-care providers need to recognize that not all adolescent pregnancies occur as a result of error. A small subset of adolescents intentionally plan their pregnancy. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of 14- to 17-year-old pregnant females who had planned their pregnancies. Participants were recruited from one prenatal clinic at a large tertiary medical center in the eastern region of the United States. Three themes emerged from participant interviews that were related to the adolescents' pregnancies. Themes included living environment issues, adjustment to the pregnancy, and an increased motivation to do well in school and work to provide a good life for their infants. Understanding the phenomena of planned adolescent pregnancy can provide a basis for health-care providers to provide support to adolescent females in this life transition. Understanding the common experience of these adolescents can assist health-care providers to develop individualized interventions to best meet these young women's needs and to improve birth outcomes among this population.

Web Sites that Address Epidural Anesthesia for Childbirth.

Epidural analgesia has become a popular way to reduce pain during labor. Because epidural use is not limited to women who plan its use, but extends to some who originally planned a nonmedicated birth, it is important for the childbirth educator to provide information on this topic to all women. In this column, the authors provide examples of Web sites that address epidural anesthesia. Web sites for professionals and consumers are included. Encouraging the use of such resources by expectant parents can provide them with good information and allow the class time on this topic to be that of clarification.

Ethnicity and prenatal health promotion content.

Prenatal care health promotion education is an important strategy for reducing perinatal health disparities. The purposes of this study were to (a) identify differences between the health promotion content women wanted to discuss and the content women reported discussing and (b) determine whether ethnicity was related to health promotion content. A cross-sectional study used face-to-face interviews to obtain data about 159 Mexican American and African American pregnant women's prenatal experience. Women wanted more health promotion content than they discussed. Despite wanting information about more health promotion topics than African American women. Mexican American women discussed fewer topics. Ethnicity, number of topics women wanted to discuss, whether a woman had a primary provider, and type of prenatal provider model were also related to content.

Aging memory self-efficacy: elders share their thoughts and experience.

Twenty-six elders responded to an open-ended question as part of a study that examined the relationships among depression, health, memory self-efficacy, and metamemory. Participants rated their overall memory function as fair to average (M = 4.26, standard deviation [SD] = 1.29). The average memory efficacy scores were high (M = 51.35, SD = 23.56). The final question invited participants to share any additional information they thought might be important to this item. This article represents a content analysis of these comments. The mean age of responders was 68.78; all had high perceived health and no depression. No differences on memory self-efficacy arose among age groups. Themes included memory management, rationalization, reflection, information seeking, and correlation establishment. Therefore, it is important for clinicians to ask elders about memory function during routine health care encounters, as individuals are interested in memory assessment and management.

Nursing care for pregnant adolescents.

Although the physical care of pregnant adolescents is similar to that required by adult women, adolescents have additional unique needs. Adolescents often need more support and extensive teaching during pregnancy and the postpartum. Moreover, adolescents often have fewer life experiences than do adult women, making them less able to cope with the life changes they are experiencing related to pregnancy and birth. Nonjudgmental and developmentally appropriate interactions are essential to the care of pregnant adolescents. This article explores nursing care for the physical, emotional, and educational needs of adolescents during the prenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum periods.

Nutrition and HIV-Positive Pregnancy.

When an HIV-positive woman becomes pregnant, additional nutritional considerations are warranted. Compared to routine prenatal nutritional assessment and intervention, pregnant HIV-positive women have increased needs to promote a healthy outcome. This column contains information on HIV and pregnancy, nutrition and infection, and nutrition for HIV-positive pregnancy. This content can be integrated into childbirth education settings to improve care to women who are HIV-positive.

Web Sites that Address Gestational Diabetes and Perinatal Obesity.

Obesity contributes to multiple health problems during pregnancy and predisposes a woman to develop gestational diabetes. This column reviews the currently best Web sites that address gestational diabetes and obesity during the perinatal period.