Running head: WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 1

Weight Gain During Pregnancy

Abby Dalling

Brigham Young University- Idaho

N 433C- 03

Sister Dalling

September 26, 2017

WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 2

Weight Gain During Pregnancy

Part 1: Defining the Population

Health Issue

Throughout the past decade the issue of women gaining more than the recommended

weight during pregnancy has become more prevalent (ACOG, 2013). It is estimated that at least

80% of women in the United States will become pregnant at some time in their life. It is also

estimated that about 31% of these pregnancies will suffer some type of complication. Many of

these complications stem from exceeding the recommended weight gain during pregnancy

(Healthy People, 2017). The amount of weight gained can affect the health of the mother and the

baby during the pregnancy and in the future (ACOG, 2013).

A certain amount of weight gain is important but pregnancy is not an excuse for

uncontrolled dietary indulgence. There may be multiple reasons that a woman gains more than

the recommended weight during pregnancy. Some of these reasons may include multiple

gestation, edema, gestational hypertension, or simply overeating. Exceeding the recommended

weight gain, for any of these reasons, can increase the chances of having a complication. It can

increase the likelihood for macrosomia and fetopelvic disproportion, emergency cesarean,

operative vaginal birth, postpartum hemorrhage, genital tract or urinary tract infections, birth

trauma, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and late fetal death (Perry, S., Hockenberry, M.,

Lowdermilk, D., & Wilson, D., 2014). There is also evidence suggesting that these

complications can have long term health risks for the mother and the child. In recent studies

maternal obesity and weight gain has been strongly linked to the development of children being

overweight or obese (Obesity Society, 2017).

WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 3

The recommended weight gain throughout pregnancy can vary depending on a woman's

height and weight prior to pregnancy and whether or not she has a unique set of circumstances

that would require consultation with a doctor. However, there are general guidelines that have

been set for weight gain during pregnancy. Figure 1 outlines the Centers of Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) recommended weight gain of a pregnant woman with one baby based on body

mass index (BMI). BMI can be calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by height

in meters squared (CDC, 2016).

Figure 1. https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/pregnancy-weight-

gain.htm

Healthy People 2020

The Healthy People Goal, which aligns with this health issue, is found under the category

Pregnancy Health and Behaviors. The specific objective is MICH-13 Increase the proportion of

mothers who achieve a recommended weight gain during their pregnancy. Healthy People does

not have data available for this objective (Healthy People, 2017). However, there is specific data

provided from PubMed and the CDC. PubMed conducted a study of 1,309,136 women and

determined that gestational weight gain was above the recommended guidelines in 47% of
WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 4

pregnancies (Goldstein et al., 2017). The CDC has also performed studies and concluded that

48% of pregnant women exceed the recommended weight gain (CDC, 2016).

Figure 2. https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/pregnancy-weight-

gain.htm

Specific Population

The population that will be assessed is women in Madison county who are pregnant and

under age 40. Madison county is in Idaho and is made up of 472 sq. miles with an estimated 80

people per square mile (City Data, 2017).

Figure 3. http://www.worldatlas.com/na/us/id/c-madison-county-idaho.html
WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 5

Madison Countys total population is estimated to be about 39,048 (Bureau, 2017). The

race of the population in Madison County is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. http://www.city-data.com/county/Madison_County-ID.html

The gender distribution is almost equal with 51.6% female and 48.4% male as shown in Figure 5

(Data USA, 2015).

Figure 5. http://www.city-data.com/county/Madison_County-ID.html

The average median income in 2015 was $32,701 (City Data, 2017). The average household size

in 2015 was 3 people (City Data, 2017). In Madison County people 25 or older from 2011-2015
WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 6

with a high school graduate or higher degree of was 95.4% and a bachelors degree or higher was

34.8% as shown in Figure 6 (Bureau, 2017).

Figure 6. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/madisoncountyidaho,ID/PST045216

The average age of the population in Madison County is 23 as shown in Figure 7 (Data USA,

2015).

Figure 7. https://datausa.io/profile/geo/madison-county-id/#demographics

Community

Madison county includes the cities of Rexburg and Sugar City. Within Rexburg is

Brigham Young University-Idaho (BYU-I). The college is a big part of the community with

approximately 20,000 students attending school on campus each semester (BYU-Idaho, 2017).

In the city of Rexburg 93.41% of people claim they are religious (Sperlings Best Places, 2017).
WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 7

91.56% are LDS; 1.41% are Catholic; 0.39% are another Christian faith; and 0% are Jewish,

Islamic, or Eastern faith (Sperlings Best Places, 2017). There is an LDS temple located in

Rexburg shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8. http://www.mormontemples.org/eng/temple/rexburg-idaho

Madison county is considered a rural area with multiple farming communities. There is a

wide variety of crops grown in the area. There are two high schools: Madison High School and

Sugar City High School. There is one hospital in Madison County called Madison Memorial

Hospital.

Figure 9. www.rexburgstandardjournal.com
WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 8

Plan

The plan for gathering data about exceeding weight gain during pregnancy will begin

with interviewing two key informants: a nurse on the Labor and Delivery nurse, and a nurse at

Teton Medical Group. Two pregnant women will also be interviewed and a windshield survey

of observing how many pregnant women are seen on the sidewalks while driving through

Rexburg will be done. The sources that will be used for secondary data will be PubMed, United

States Census Bureau: American Fact Finder, City Data Madison County Idaho, and CDC

Weight Gain During Pregnancy.

Part 2: Assessment

Primary Data

The interviewees were interviewed separately. A lot of the data that was gathered was

similar in nature. All of the people interviewed acknowledged that exceeding the recommended

weight gain during pregnancy is not a good thing and thought of it as a problem.

The labor and delivery nurse brought up the point that labor patients get assigned one of

four categories when they are admitted to the unit. Category 1 indicates a low risk delivery and

category 4 indicates high risk delivery. She said that weight is one of the things that is taken into

account when assigning the patient a category. Being overweight puts the woman in a higher

category. She also talked about some of the complications that can occur such as difficulty

monitoring the baby, and increased risk for cesarean delivery (Appendix A). Both of the nurses

who were interviewed said that they feel close to half of the pregnancies they see exceed the

recommended weight gain (Appendix B).

WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 9

Both of the pregnant women who were interviewed had not been taught about weight

gain during pregnancy from their healthcare providers. They said that when they go to their

appointments they are weighed, but have never been educated about it from their providers.

However, both women have done their own research on the internet and have apps or internet

sites that they feel are helpful (Appendix C, D). A windshield survey was conducted that

consisted of driving around the town of Rexburg for 2 hours observing the people walking

alongside the streets. Within those 2 hours seven pregnant women were seen walking along the

street.

Secondary Data

Local.

The most common age for women to have children in Madison County is 24 to 29 as

shown in figure 10 (City Data, 2017).

Figure 10. http://www.city-data.com/county/Madison_County-ID.html

WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 10

Figure 11 shows the options that Madison County has for food services as well as some of the

other demographics relating to diet (City Data, 2017).

Figure 11. http://www.city-data.com/county/Madison_County-ID.html

The median household income for Madison County in 2015 was $32, 233 which is lower than

the median household income of the United States or Idaho as shown in Figure 12 (Data USA,

2015).
WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 11

Figure 12. https://datausa.io/profile/geo/madison-county-id/

There are multiple places that women can go in Madison County for prenatal care during

pregnancy. The Eastern Idaho Public Health Department has a Reproductive Health Department

agency that women can contact for information (Eastern Idaho Public Health 2010). A few of

the places available for care of a pregnant women in Madison County include Seasons Medical,

Madison Womens Clinic, Rexburg Medical Clinic, and Teton Medical Group.

The Madison County Health Department is another resource. They offer Medical

Nutrition Therapy (MTN) that is provided by registered dieticians that can educate specifically

with eating healthy during pregnancy and preventing to much weight gain during pregnancy.

This service is available to all Madison County residents (Madison County Health Department,

2017).

State.

Approximately 45.0%-49.9% of Idaho women exceeded the recommended weight gain as

shown in figure 13 (Deputy, Sharma, & Kim, 2015). Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is

a resource that pregnant women in Idaho can reach out to. This department has options for

financial aid and gives information about nutrition and physical activity. This department can
WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 12

also help women get involved with Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC) which deals

with nutrition and will be talked more about in the next section (Idaho, 2017).

National.

In 2015 the CDC released the results from a study about gestational weight gain that was

conducted with participants all cross the United States. Pre-pregnancy BMI was calculated and

categorized as underweight, normal, or overweight with the same categories listed in Figure 1.

The results from the study showed that overall prevalence of women who exceeded the

recommended weight gain during their pregnancy was 47.5%. Women who had the appropriate

amount of weight gain was 32.1%, and women who had inadequate weight gain was 20.4%

(Deputy et al., 2015).

Figure 13. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6443a3.htm#Tab1

There are many resources available for pregnant women on a national level. The two

pregnant women who were interviewed mentioned apps and websites that they use and that

people have recommended to them. The two that were mentioned were the app called Ovia and

Baby Center which is an app and a website (Appendix C, D). They both do similar things. They

both have pregnancy weight gain calculators. The woman using this enters in her weight every
WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 13

week and the app tells her if she is above, below, or gaining the recommended amount of weight

(Baby Center, 2017).

WIC is a federal program that provides grants to states for things such as supplemental

foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education to women who are pregnant, breastfeeding,

or non-breastfeeding postpartum as well as infants and children up to age 5. The goal of this

program is to improve the health of pregnant women and children. There are certain

requirements that need to be met with regards to income and nutritional risk (USDA, 2017). The

income guidelines can be found in figure 14.

Figure 14. http://www.madisoncountyhealth.org/wic.html

Part 3: Data Interpretation

Significant Themes
or Trends for
Exceeding the
Recommended National State Local
Weight Gain During
Pregnancy.
Definition of BMI less than 18.5: BMI less than 18.5: BMI less than 18.5:
recommended weight 28-40 pounds 28-40 pounds 28-40 pounds
gain during
pregnancy.
WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 14

BMI 18.5-24.9: 25-35 BMI 18.5-24.9: 25-35 BMI 18.5-24.9: 25-35

pounds pounds pounds

BMI: 25-29.9: 15-25 BMI: 25-29.9: 15-25 BMI: 25-29.9: 15-25

pounds pounds pounds

BMI greater than 30: BMI greater than 30: BMI greater than 30:
11-20pounds 11-20pounds 11-20pounds
Percent of women 47.5% 45%-49.9% Approximately 50%
that exceed the
recommended weight
gain while pregnant.
Are there resources Yes Yes Yes
available to women Example: WIC Example: Idaho Example: Madison
to help them avoid Department of Health County Health
exceeding the and Welfare Department
recommended weight
gain?
Figure 15.

While analyzing the data that was gathered from primary and secondary sources it

became easy to see that exceeding the recommended weight gain during pregnancy is a problem

at a local, state, and national level. At all three levels it appears to be a problem for 45%-50% of

the population of pregnant women. There are programs offered on a local, state, and national

level to try to help women become more educated about weight gain during pregnancy and also

to offer financial aid so optimum nutrition can be achieved (Figure 15).

Similarities

One of the similarities in the data is that exceeding the recommended weight gain during

pregnancy seems to be a problem in 45-50% of the population at a local, state and national level.

According to the nurses who were interviewed, approximately 50% of the population they see in

Madison County exceeds the recommended weight gain during pregnancy and state and national

statistics say the same thing (Appendix A).

WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 15

Secondly, the guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy are the same at a local, state, and

national level as shown in figure 15. How much weight a woman should gain during her

pregnancy is based on BMI prior to pregnancy. Women with a BMI below 18.5 should gain 28-

40. Women with a BMI between 18.5 and 25 should gain 25-35pounds while pregnant. Women

with a BMI between 25 and 30 should gain 15-30 pounds while pregnant. Women with a BMI

greater than 30 should gain 11-20 pounds while pregnant.

The third similarity is that resources are offered to educate women and try to help them

maintain a healthy weight gain throughout their pregnancy at a local, state, and national level.

There are programs that are offered within Madison County to Madison County residents,

programs offered from the state of Idaho and programs offered from the government to everyone

in the United States.

Differences

In the interviews that were performed, no one mentioned the programs that are available to

women. It seems that the programs are not well represented. One of the interview questions to

the pregnant women asked if they knew about other resources that were there for them but they

did not know about these programs.

The pregnant women who were interviewed said that they had not been taught about weight

gain during pregnancy. However, the nurses said that women are educated about weight gain

during pregnancy. It is unknown why there is this discrepancy in the information. A possibility

may be that women are not taught about weight gain during pregnancy unless it starts to become

an issue.

The women who were interviewed mentioned apps that they use. Through the research that

was performed it was discovered that there are websites that those apps came from. The
WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 16

websites also have a lot to offer to pregnant women to help them learn about nutrition and weight

gain during pregnancy.

Strengths of the Population

One strength of the population is that there are three different grocery stores in Madison

County that offer fresh produce and other healthy foods that women can eat. This is helpful to

have because it offers better options to women to help keep them healthy.

There are multiple clinicians and offices in the county that offer prenatal care to women.

Some that were previously mentioned include Seasons Medical, Madison Womens Clinic,

Rexburg Medical Clinic, and Teton Medical Group (City Data, 2017). Women have options for

what kind of clinician they would like to have offer their prenatal care and deliver their baby.

Another strength of the community is the Madison County Health Department offers Medical

Nutrition Therapy (MTN), which provides a registered dietician specifically to help women learn

about eating healthy during pregnancy. This is a great resource to women who feel they need

guidance about how to eat during their pregnancy (Madison County Health Department, 2017).

Challenges of the Population

One challenge of the population is the median household income for Madison County in

2015 was $32, 233 which is significantly lower than the rest of Idaho which was approximately

$47,000 (Data USA, 2015). Having low income could possibly make it harder to lead a healthy

lifestyle.

Another challenge of this population is that there are certain months of the year in Madison

County that the weather gets very cold which could cause women to get less physical activity.

Generally, when it is cold outside people usually have less physical activity.
WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 17

A third challenge that this population faces is not knowing about all of the resources that are

available to them. Both of the pregnant women who were interviewed did not know about any of

the local resources that are available to them in Madison County (Appendix C, D). It seems that

there needs to be more advertising so women know what is available to them.

Significant Information Which Validates Health Issue

At a national, state and local level 45%-50% of the population of pregnant women exceed the

recommended weight gain during their pregnancy. Exceeding the recommended weight gain

during pregnancy can pose serious risks to the baby such as macrosomia and fetopelvic

disproportion, emergency cesarean, operative vaginal birth, postpartum hemorrhage, genital tract

or urinary tract infections, birth trauma, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and late fetal death

(Perry, 2014). Exceeding the recommended weight gain during pregnancy can also can increase

the risk of the child having problems with obesity later in life (Obesity Society, 2017).

Part 4: Population Health Plan

Areas for Improvement

Knowledge.

The pregnant women that were interviewed did not fully understand the effects that

exceeding the weight gain during pregnancy could have on the mother and the baby. It is

important that mothers do understand the risk factors involved. From the research that was

gathered it seemed that there is not a lot of teaching about exceeding the recommended weight

gain until it becomes a problem.

Resources.

It seems that the resources that are available to the pregnant women in Madison County

are not being fully utilized. There are multiple things available at a local, state, and national
WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 18

level to pregnant women. Both of the pregnant women that were interviewed did not know

about any additional resources other than their doctors office and the internet.

Advertisement.

There are very few billboards or signs around the county that talk about the resources

available to pregnant women in the county or about weight gain during pregnancy. Many

women do not know about the recommendations for weight gain during pregnancy or the

resources available. There needs to be more advertisement about these things to help women

avoid problems that stem from exceeding more than the recommended weight gain during

pregnancy.

Recommendations

Knowledge.

There are pregnancy classes that are offered to pregnant women usually through their

healthcare provider. It would be beneficial if knowledge about weight gain during pregnancy

was one of the topics that was included in those classes. It would also be beneficial to talk to the

doctors offices in Madison County that offer prenatal care about teaching women more about

this.

Resources.

If women knew about the resources available to them they will be more likely to

use them. It would be beneficial to go to the different doctors offices in Madison County and

make sure that the staff is aware of the programs that are available for pregnant women. Some of

the resources that could be mentioned are Madison County Health Departments MTN and WIC

(Madison County Health Department, 2017).

Advertisement.
WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 19

It would be beneficial to have a billboard in Madison County that had the weight gain

during pregnancy recommendations so women would know what those recommendations are

and start thinking about where they are on the chart. It would also be helpful to have more signs

in store doors and around BYU-I campus about the resources available to the women such as

WIC or MTN and the options they have for prenatal care.

Evaluations

Knowledge.

This can be measured by doing more interviews and evaluating whether or not pregnant

women know more about weight gain during pregnancy than before. The hope would be that

more women were taught and understand the effects of exceeding the recommended weight gain

during pregnancy.

Resources.

Whether or not more pregnant women in Madison County start to use the resources

available to them is how this could be evaluated. This information could be obtained by calling

the different agencies that offer programs and seeing if their enrollment has increased since the

changes were made.

Advertisement.

The advertisement of the resources available to pregnant women could also be measured

by enrollment rates. More interviews could also be performed asking women how they learned

about weight gain during pregnancy to see where they obtained the information.

Conclusion

Exceeding the recommended weight gain during pregnancy is a problem throughout the

United States (Deputy et al., 2015). There are many complications for the mother and the baby
WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 20

that can come about from this problem. It is important that more information is given to women

so they understand the complications that can happen.

Madison County pregnant women have many recourses at their disposal. Using these

resources and learning about weight gain during pregnancy could help the mother and the child

have a happier and healthier life.

Reflection

Completing this project has been a great experience for me. I have learned so much as I

have researched and gone out in the community to find more information. I think that the

knowledge that I have from completing this project will help me be more successful in the

workforce. I was able to learn about resources that the patients I encounter can use. I was also

able to more fully understand the effects of exceeding the recommended weight gain during

pregnancy to the point that I could confidently teach a patient about it.

I can help people around me to know the dangers of exceeding the recommended weight

gain during pregnancy. Close to half of the population of pregnant women struggle with this and

I think that a lot of that comes from lack of knowledge. If women were more aware of the harm

that could come to them or their baby, I think they would have more of a desire to be careful.

My thought process at the beginning of this project was kind of negative. I had it in my

mind that I couldnt really make a difference about whatever health issue I chose. My view now

is much different. After going out into the community and meeting with different people I

realized that I truly can make a difference. I may not be able to fix everyones problems but

knowledge is power and I share my knowledge with people. I truly can implement my plan into

the community and help people. That is such an amazing feeling and I am grateful for the

opportunity I have had to complete this project and learn the things I have learned
WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 21

References

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist (ACOG). (2013). Weight gain during

pregnancy. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 121(1), 210. Retrieved from

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23262962

Baby Center. (2017). Pregnancy. Retrieved from https://www.babycenter.com/pregnancy

Bureau, U. S. C. (2017). Community Facts. American FactFinder. Retrieved from

https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml

BYU-Idaho. (2017). Official enrollment statistics. Retrieved from

http://www2.byui.edu/IR/stats/index.htm

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2016). Weight gain during pregnancy.

Reproductive Health. Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/pregnancy-weight-

gain.htm

City Data. (2017). Madison County Idaho. Retrieved from http://www.city-

data.com/county/Madison_County-ID.html

Data USA. (2015). Madison County Idaho. Retrieved from

https://datausa.io/profile/geo/madison-county-id/#demographics

Deputy, Nicholas P., Andrea J. Sharma, Shin Y. Kim. (2015). Gestational Weight Gain- United

States. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC). Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6443a3.htm#Tab1

Eastern Idaho Public Health. (2010). Reproductive Health. Pregnancy Services. Retrieved from

https://eiph.idaho.gov/FACHS/Pregnancy/pregnancyservices.html
WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 22

Goldstein, R. F., Abell, S. K., Ranasinha, S., Misso, M., Boyle, J. A., Black, M. H., . . . Teede,

H. J. (2017). Association of gestational weight gain with maternal and infant outcomes: A

systematic review and meta-analysis. Jama, 317(21), 2207-2225.

doi:10.1001/jama.2017.3635

Healthy People 2020. (2017). Maternal Infant and Child Health. Leading Health Indicators.

Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/leading-health-indicators/2020-lhi-

topics/Maternal-Infant-and-Child-Health

Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. (2017). Health. Retrieved from

http://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/Health/tabid/60/Default.aspx

Madison County Health Department. (2017). WIC. Retrieved from

http://www.madisoncountyhealth.org/wic.html

Obesity Society. (2017). Early weight gain in pregnancy correlates with childhood obesity, first

study of its size shows. Science Daily. Retrieved from

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170828100800.htm

Perry, S., Hockenberry, M., Lowdermilk, D., & Wilson, D. (2014). Maternal Child Nursing

Care. St. Louis, MO: Mosby, an imprint of Elsevier Inc.

Sperlings Best Places. (2017). Rexburg. Retrieved from

http://www.bestplaces.net/religion/city/idaho/rexburg

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). (2017). Food and Nutrition Services. Women,

Infants and Children (WIC). Retrieved from https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/wic-

eligibility-requirements
WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 23

Appendix A

Labor and Delivery Nurse

1. Do you feel that women gaining more than the recommended amount of weight during

pregnancy can create complications?

Yes, definitely being overweight can affect the baby and during labor. Something kind of

interesting is when the hospital is figuring our how much to charge (regarding price) a

patient for labor they are separated to 4 categories. Category 1 is like the lowest risk for

complications and category 4 is highest risk. Being overweight is one of the things that is

considered and if someone is overweight they go into a higher category.

2. What percentage of pregnancies do you feel have this issue?

I would say about 50% of the pregnancies I see have exceeded the recommended weight

gain.

3. What are the complications you see during labor for a woman who has gained more than

the recommended amount of weight?

Being overweight can make it more difficult to monitor the baby during labor. We had a

patient that developed a bedsore during labor that was overweight. So skin breakdown is

more likely to happen if they are overweight. With C sections it puts them at a higher risk

for not recovering properly because it is harder on their c section incision.

4. What impact do you feel this has on the baby?

Gaining to much weight in pregnancy could happen from a variety of things but

overeating is a common cause and that could have negative effects on the baby if they are

eating unhealthy things. It could also cause gestational diabetes which could mess with

the babys blood sugars and cause them to be unstable.

WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 24

Appendix B

Interview with Nurse at Teton Medical group

1. Do you feel that women gaining more than the recommended amount of weight during

pregnancy can create complications?

Yes, I feel that women that gain more than the recommended weight during

pregnancy are at a higher risk for complications. It increases the chance of a

cesarean delivery. Women also have a harder time getting the weight off after

having the baby which could lead to obesity.

2. What percentage of the pregnancies you see do you feel have this problem?

I feel that close to half of the women that I see gain more than the average weight

of 25-35lbs.

3. Is there a certain age group that you feel this is more prevalent in?

I feel like I see more weight gain in older pregnant women, and also the young

teen pregnancies. I think a lot of women in their twenties to mid thirties exercise

more and eat healthier in general.

4. What do you think is the leading cause of this problem?

I feel it is because the way our world has turned to getting a quick lunch at a drive

thru and ordering take out for dinner instead of cooking. Some feel that it is easer

and better instead of cooking a healthy meal. Some women feel they are eating for

two and it gives them an excuse to eat more, and also give into their cravings.

Also, a lot of women do not get enough exercise to help burn calories.

5. What are the complications you see from a woman gaining more than the recommended

weight?
WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 25

Women who exceed the weight recommendations are at a risk for hypertension,

which could lead to preeclampsia or HELP Syndrome. Excessive weight gain

could also put women at risk for gestational diabetes. There is also usually higher

risk for complications in labor.

6. What do you teach women about weight gain during pregnancy?

We try and educate the patients on gaining 25-35 lbs on average and a little more if

they are underweight and less if they are over weight. We try to encourage balanced

diets with all the major food groups. We also encourage exercise daily, for some that

will be a walk to the mail box and back and for others that could be miles. We try to

encourage healthy lifestyles to help with having a healthy baby!

WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 26

Appendix C

Interview with Pregnant Woman

1. Have you been taught about weight gain during pregnancy?

No, I just know what I have learned from my own personal research.

2. What have you been taught about weight gain during pregnancy?

I have used a pregnancy weight gain calculator online to see if I am above or below

where I should be. I have learned that even though I may have cravings I do not have to

eat the things that I crave in excess.

3. Who taught you this information?

Mostly my own research on the internet.

4. Do you feel it is beneficial to follow the recommendations for weight gain during

pregnancy? Why?

I think it is good to use as a guideline but I think it is important to use it as a guideline

and not be too skinny but not gain too much either.

5. Do you know of any resources that are available to you to help you avoid exceeding the

recommended weight gain?

I have an app called Ovia that tracks my weight gain and I use a google calculator that is

a pregnancy weight gain calculator that is on a website called baby center.

WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY 27

Appendix D

Interview with a Pregnant Woman

1. Have you been taught about weight gain during pregnancy?

Not by my doctor.

2. What have you been taught about weight gain during pregnancy?

I have been taught from school and from friends that there is certain limits of too much or

too little weight gain during pregnancy.

3. Who taught you this information?

I have an app that talks about it and I have talked to my mom.

4. Do you feel it is beneficial to follow the recommendations for weight gain during

pregnancy? Why?

Yes, I was talked to my mom about it and she said that her doctor would talk to her about

needing to gain more or less weight. I think that there is bad things that can happen if you

gain too much weight or too little weight such as Intrauterine Growth Restriction or

Gestational Diabetes so I think it is important to monitor.

5. Do you know of any resources that are available to you to help you avoid exceeding the

recommended weight gain?

I have an app that talks about nutrition and weight gain and it is called baby center.