title: A postcolonial feminist discourse analysis of urban Aboriginal women's description of pregnancy-related weight gain and physical activity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Excessive weight gain and physical inactivity in pregnancy have been identified as risk factors for negative health outcomes for mothers and fetuses, particularly among Aboriginal women.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  In this paper we engage with postcolonial feminist theory and critical discourse analysis to examine the question, "how do urban Aboriginal women understand pregnancy-related weight gain and physical activity."
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted focus groups and semi-structured interviews with 25 urban Aboriginal pregnant or postpartum women between the ages of 16 and 39 in Ottawa, Canada.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three prominent discourses emerged: Aboriginal women have different pregnancies than non-Aboriginal women because Aboriginal women gain more weight and are more likely to develop gestational diabetes; Aboriginal women feel personally responsible for and shameful about excessive weight gain; finally, Aboriginal women need culturally safe pregnancy resources.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results illuminate the complex and often paradoxical ways in which discourses around weight gain and physical activity are produced and taken-up by Aboriginal women and their healthcare providers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on these findings, we argue there is a lack of accessible and culturally safe resources for urban Aboriginal women, specifically concerning weight gain and physical activity in pregnancy. We recommend the development of resources that are created for/by/with Aboriginal women to better address that issues that urban Aboriginal women themselves identify as being of key importance.
authors: School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada. Electronic address: fdarr023@uottawa.ca.
authors: Francine E
authors: FE
authors: Darroch
authors: School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, 334 Montpetit, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada. Electronic address: agiles@uottawa.ca.
authors: Audrey R
authors: AR
authors: Giles
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002170:Canada; D018595:Colonialism; D005260:Female; D019513:Feminism; D017144:Focus Groups; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D009043:Motor Activity; D044382:Population Groups; D011247:Pregnancy; D064890:Social Determinants of Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000208:ethnology*
keywords: Colonialism; Physical activity; Pregnancy; Social determinants of health; Weight gain