Evidence Hub

Using posts on Mumsnet online discussion forums to understand what women think about weight management during and after pregnancy

Quick-read summary

Many women struggle with excess weight while pregnant. This can lead to pregnancy complications and can negatively affect the health of the child in the short and longer-term. Many women also struggle to lose excess weight after pregnancy. To explore what women with excess weight think about weight management during and after pregnancy, we analysed discussion forum posts on popular UK website, Mumsnet.

We found that women felt anxious and guilty about the impact of excess weight on the health of their baby during pregnancy. Because of this, some women were trying to, or were considering, losing weight while pregnant, sometimes with the encouragement of other forum users. Many women did not know that this was against current clinical guidelines.

We also found that women who received special care during pregnancy because of their weight felt that their concerns about their weight were dismissed by their health care team.

Maternity health care professionals should be aware that some women with excess weight may consider losing weight while pregnant, and that this practice may be promoted on online discussion forums. Health care professionals should discuss with women healthy weight gain during pregnancy and give them the opportunity to share their concerns about the impact of weight on their pregnancy.

Who is this evidence useful for?

Maternity health care professionals e.g., midwives, obstetricians; pregnant women and women considering pregnancy

What is the issue?

Many women start pregnancy with obesity. Obesity increases the risk of complications during pregnancy and can also have longer term, negative impacts on the health of both baby and mother. It is also common for women to gain excess weight during pregnancy. Many women find it challenging to lose this weight after birth.

Research summary

We analysed posts on Mumsnet to explore women’s experiences and views on weight management during and after pregnancy. We included posts that were:

• Posted in relevant discussion forums on Mumsnet from 7th July 2021 to 7th March 2022
• Posted by users who had self-described excess weight during pregnancy or up to one year after birth
• About weight or weight management during pregnancy or up to one year after birth.

What did the research find?

• Women understood that excess weight posed a risk to their baby’s health and increased the risk of complications during pregnancy and birth.
• Women felt anxious and guilty about these increased risks. Because of this, some women were considering losing weight during pregnancy and used the forum to ask other users if this could be done safely.
• Some forum users discouraged these users from trying to lose weight while pregnant, while some encouraged these users and shared their own stories of losing weight during pregnancy.
• Women who received special care during pregnancy because of their weight expressed their worries about their weight to their health care team.
• However, they felt their health care team did not address their concerns adequately, and did not provide additional support for weight management e.g., being weighed regularly.

Why is this important?

This study provides new insights into women’s intentions to lose weight while pregnant. It also shows the potential for online forums to promote potentially harmful weight management practices. Neither of these findings have been reported much in previous research.

Recommendations for practice

• Health care professionals should be aware that women with excess weight may consider losing weight during pregnancy. They are encouraged to have conversations with pregnant women about healthy weight gain during pregnancy, including strong recommendations to avoid intentional weight loss.
• Health care professionals should be aware that women with excess weight may be anxious about the impact of their weight on their baby. Health care professionals should give women the opportunity to share these concerns so they can be adequately addressed and lessen women’s anxiety.

Find out more

Contact the lead author, Dr Mackenzie Fong: [email protected]

Read the full research paper: I know i’m not meant to ‘diet’ but is it ok to lose a few pounds while pregnant?: a qualitative analysis of Mumsnet discussion forum posts to understand women’s experiences of and views on weight and weight management while living with excess weight during and after pregnancy | BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth | Full Text

Acknowledgments

Several authors of this paper were funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria (NENC) while undertaking this work.