Support for pre and postnatal women say new guidelines
Women should be supported with suitable exercise plans and healthy eating advice during and after pregnancy new guidelines say.
The new advice from NICE advises health professionals how to support women with weight management, from the initial stages of planning a pregnancy to mothers who have had a baby in the last two years.
Director of the Centre for Public Health Excellence at NICE, Professor Mike Kelly said: “This new guidance is about helping health professionals to help women have a healthy pregnancy – it’s not about preaching to women. About half of women of childbearing age are either overweight or obese and although obese women can have healthy babies, the evidence does suggest that there are more risks associated with pregnancies in women who have a BMI of over 30 when they become pregnant.”
The guidance will be aimed at all those working in antenatal and postnatal services, including GPs and health visitors.
Recommendations include helping women achieve a healthy weight whilst planning for pregnancy, helping pregnant women with a high BMI with eating advice and supporting women after childbirth with suitable physical activities or structured weight-loss programmes.
Professor of Maternal and Fetal Health, King’s College London and guidance developer, Lucilla Poston said: “The increasing prevalence of obesity amongst pregnant women in the UK is very worrying as there are so many potential risks for the mother and her baby. This timely guidance provides sound, yet simple lifestyle advice which can help health professionals support obese women to optimise their health, and their baby’s too. It is also emphasised how important it is to think about BMI and weight management before pregnancy and after delivery – indeed even modest weight retention after pregnancy is now known to increase the risk of problems in the next pregnancy. Increased awareness of all these important issues will represent a major breakthrough in improvement of maternity care.”