Lifestyle habits and women's attitudes towards discussing them at a visit for contraceptive advice.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study was to use visits for contraceptive counselling as opportunities for examining women's actual life style habits with the main focus being placed on alcohol consumption but also to evaluate the women's opinions about discussing their alcohol and tobacco habits and their weight status. METHODS: A total of 535/802 (67%) women completed a study-specific anonymous questionnaire after a contraceptive counselling visit with a midwife. RESULTS: A majority of the women thought that a discussion concerning alcohol habits at a contraceptive counselling session was important (85.5%) and not intrusive (86.4%) neither embarrassing (81.7%). Women with high-risk drinking habits were younger, more often tobacco users and more often planning for childbirth in the future, compared with women who did not display high-risk drinking behaviour. A significantly higher percentage of women who practiced high-risk drinking thought that a discussion of alcohol was intrusive (10.9%) and embarrassing (46.7%), compared with women not practicing high-risk alcohol consumption. Most women (72.9%) stated that no other caregiver during the preceding year except the midwife had discussed drinking habits with them. The weight was a good thing that the midwife brought up for discussion according to 82.5% of the women but the discussions about weight was more often found embarrassing (18.4%) than the discussion about alcohol habits. CONCLUSION: Women who came for contraceptive counselling found the discussion concerning alcohol habits important, not intrusive or embarrassing and a good thing to be brought up by the midwife.

Physical activity and psychological well-being in obese pregnant and postpartum women attending a weight-gain restriction programme.

OBJECTIVE: the objective of the study was to compare the differences in psychological well-being and quality of life during pregnancy and post partum of obese physically active women and obese physically inactive women enroled in a weight gain restriction programme. We also wanted to explore whether physical activity influences weight change or health status during pregnancy. DESIGN: a prospective intervention study. SETTING: antenatal care clinic. PARTICIPANTS: a total of 74 obese pregnant women in a physically active group and 79 obese women in a physically inactive group. MEASUREMENTS: the women kept diaries of their physical activity during pregnancy and answered the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Medical Study Short-Form Health Survey in gestational weeks 15 and 35 and 11 weeks post partum. Physical activity was measured in metabolic equivalents. FINDINGS: the physically active women experienced fewer depressive symptoms and estimated an improved quality of life during their pregnancies as measured by physical functioning, bodily pain, social functioning, role limitations due to emotional problems and general mental health as compared with the physically inactive women. There were no differences between the groups in gestational weight gain or weight change from early pregnancy to post partum or in prevalence of complications. KEY CONCLUSIONS: physical activity among obese pregnant women provides better psychological well-being and improved quality of life, but does not prevent weight change. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: staff at Antenatal Care Clinics that face obese pregnant women, should encourage and emphasise the benefits of being physically active throughout pregnancy.