title: Eat Well Keep Active: Qualitative findings from a feasibility and acceptability study of a brief midwife led intervention to facilitate healthful dietary and physical activity behaviours in pregnant women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  overweight and obesity in the pregnant population is increasing and this is a public health concern. Many women have difficulty in following the recommendation to maintain a healthy diet and to keep active, indeed some identify pregnancy as the start of their concern with being overweight.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the 'Eat Well Keep Active' intervention programme designed to promote healthy eating and physical activity in pregnant women. This brief midwife led intervention was based upon the Self Determination Theory (SDT) framework and utilised Motivational Interviewing and individualised goal setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  this was a prospective qualitative study to explore women's views on the acceptability and perceived efficacy of the 'Eat Well Keep Active' programme obtained through one-to-one interviews 6 weeks after the delivery of the intervention. Data were also analysed to assess fidelity of the intervention to the psychological constructs of SDT; autonomy, competence and relatedness.
  
  
  METHODS
  Wales, UK.
  
  
  METHODS
  pregnant women suitable for Midwife Led Care and therefore deemed to be 'low risk' were recruited from a large maternity unit in South Wales (n=20).
  
  
  RESULTS
  the results indicated that the 'Eat Well Keep Active' intervention programme was well received by participants who reported that it positively influenced their health behaviours. There was clear evidence of the intervention supporting the three SDT psychological needs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Eat Well Keep Active intervention was designed to be incorporated into existing antenatal provision and findings from this study have demonstrated its acceptability. The brief midwife led intervention based on SDT was found to be acceptable by the participants who embraced the opportunity to discuss and explore their lifestyle behaviours with a midwife.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  theoretically designed interventions that can facilitate women to pursue a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy are lacking and the 'Eat Well Keep Active' programme has the potential to address this. Further research is needed in order to assess the acceptability of the intervention to midwives and other groups of pregnant women prior to assessing its efficacy in changing and maintaining healthful behaviours.
authors.affiliation: School of Healthcare Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK. Electronic address: warrenle@cardiff.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.affiliation: College of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK.
authors.forename: Jaynie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rance
authors.affiliation: School of Healthcare Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: Billie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hunter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004035:Diet Therapy / Q000379:methods; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008880:Midwifery / Q000379:methods*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009765:Obesity / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology; D011247:Pregnancy; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000523:psychology*; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods; D011446:Prospective Studies; D036301:Qualitative Research; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior
keywords: Behaviour change; Diet; Goal setting; Interventions; Maternal lifestyle; Midwife led care; Midwives; Motivational Interviewing; Physical activity; Self Determination Theory