Can proper counselling prevent obesity in pregnant women?
| Jan 17, 2019, 15:52 IST
Most women are often unaware of how their bodies change when they get pregnant or what diet they need to follow and what exercises they need to opt for. When this happens, it often leads to an excessive weight gain for them and this can turn into a huge problem not just for them but also for their baby. From gestational diabetes to an increased risk of cesarean section or even excessive birth weight of the newborn, there are a number of complications that can accompany obesity in pregnant women.
To combat this problem, a study was conducted to find out whether proper counselling could help prevent obesity in pregnant women. The women who participated in the study were given three counselling sessions from week 12 of pregnancy. Following this, they also received consultation weeks after childbirth and were also asked to independently record and monitor their levels of weight gain.
"Evidently, that was not enough to reduce their weight gain. What we saw, however, was a reduction in the size and weight of the babies of the women who participated in the program. That, too, is a small but important achievement," a researcher said. So, while these methods may not be able to derive the required results, they do play an important part in training a pregnant woman to be able to take care of her health in all the right ways.
To combat this problem, a study was conducted to find out whether proper counselling could help prevent obesity in pregnant women. The women who participated in the study were given three counselling sessions from week 12 of pregnancy. Following this, they also received consultation weeks after childbirth and were also asked to independently record and monitor their levels of weight gain.
"Evidently, that was not enough to reduce their weight gain. What we saw, however, was a reduction in the size and weight of the babies of the women who participated in the program. That, too, is a small but important achievement," a researcher said. So, while these methods may not be able to derive the required results, they do play an important part in training a pregnant woman to be able to take care of her health in all the right ways.