Abstract
Background: Women attempting to conceive and those in early
pregnancy are advised to alter their lifestyles to achieve and maintain
a healthy pregnancy. This study aimed to determine women’s reported
health behaviours during pregnancy to identify ‘at risk’ groups of women
and their pregnancy outcomes.
Method: A cohort study of 907 women who booked for antenatal care and
birth in a large maternity hospital in Dublin, was undertaken from 2010–
2011. Eligible women completed an interview at the first visit, a postal
questionnaire during the third trimester, and were followed-up until
birth and hospital discharge.
Results: Over 80% of women were found to have factors contributing
to an unhealthy lifestyle during the first and third trimester of
pregnancy. Clustering of unfavourable factors was evident, with 47%
of women engaging in two or more unhealthy lifestyle behaviours
during pregnancy. Women of Irish nationality, aged 35–39 years, or who
had private health care, were identified as being more likely to have
favourable factors for a healthy pregnancy. Women were more likely to
engage in healthy lifestyle behaviours during the third trimester if they
were having their first baby. Women with healthy lifestyles in pregnancy
had better perinatal outcomes than unhealthy women.
Conclusion: Many women continue to make unhealthy lifestyle choices
during pregnancy despite guidelines that recommend healthy behaviours
in pregnancy. The ongoing challenge for health professionals is to
encourage healthy behaviour modification in women who are planning
to conceive or who are already pregnant, particularly young women and
those with an unplanned pregnancy.
Keywords: Lifestyle, Behaviours, Pregnancy, Antenatal education,
Prospective cohort study