Pregnancy and Antenatal

A 'how-to' guide for treatment and management during pregnancy and antenatal care.

Pregnant woman holds belly

Promoting healthy habits during pre-conception and antenatal stages

A woman’s preconception weight and gestational weight gain (GWG) are two of the most important and independent predictors of childhood obesity.[1] In Queensland, half of all women already live with overweight or obesity at conception.[2]

It is recommended that health professionals use GWG charts in consultation with women throughout their pregnancy. The charts should be provided to a pregnant woman during the first ante-natal visit and used to support ongoing discussion about weight at each antenatal visit.[3]

Ask and Assess

  • Pre-conception: Ask women about planning a pregnancy, and ask permission to discuss and assess preconception weight and explain its relevance.
  • Antenatal: Calculate BMI at entry to care, weigh and plot at every antenatal visit.

Advise and Assist

  • Pre-conception: Advise women of their weight range.
  • Antenatal: Advise women of recommended GWG based on their pre-pregnancy BMI. Regularly monitor and discuss pattern and rate of weight gain. Encourage self-monitoring. Provide general information on optimal nutrition, physical activity and sedentary time.

Arrange and Ask Again

Referral to allied health services for women identified as at-risk. Ask women for follow-up appointment for weight monitoring.

Toolkit for Health Professionals
Clinical Toolkit
Toolkit for Families
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References

1. Rath SR, Marsh JA, Newnham JP, Zhu K, Atkinson HC, Mountain J, et al. Parental pre‐pregnancy BMI is a dominant early‐life risk factor influencing BMI of offspring in adulthood. Obesity Science & Practice. 2016; 2:48-57.

2. Queensland Health. The health of Queenslanders. Report of the Chief Health Officer Queensland 2018. Brisbane 2019.

3. De Jersey S, Guthrie T, Tyler J, Yin Ling W, Powlesland H, Byrne B, et al. Evaluating the integration of a pregnancy weight gain chart into routine antenatal care. Maternal & Child Nutrition. 2018.

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