Pregnancy lifestyles could be better
 

Reported June 05, 2009

Women need more support to adopt healthier lifestyles when they are pregnant, a Queensland study suggests.

Only 10% of women quit smoking when they became pregnant and those who continued to smoke only reduce their average intake from 16 to 13 cigarettes per day, a study carried out at the University of Queensland found.

Published in the Australia and New Zealand Journal of Public Health (33:228-33), the study of a sample of 262 pregnant women found that two-thirds did not do the recommended amount of physical activity and less than 10% meet the national guidelines for daily fruit intake for pregnancy.

Hardly any met the guidelines for sufficient vegetables during pregnancy.

“There is a clear need to develop and evaluate effective pregnancy behaviour interventions to improve primary prevention in maternal and infant health,” said study author Shelley Wilkinson and colleagues at the University of Queensland.

“We need to restructure antenatal health services so they better support women to improve their own health and that of their babies, at a time when most will be in regular contact with health services.”

“We must support women who face greater barriers to meeting health recommendations,” they conclude.