Healthy Motivations for Moms-to-be Study
Condition: Weight Gain; Pregnancy; Stress, Emotional; Exercise; Nutrition
MeSH terms: Weight Gain
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This proposal is part of a broader research agenda that posits healthy gestational weight
      gain (GWG) may be achieved through behavioral intervention and may potentially reduce adverse
      maternal and infant health outcomes associated with excessive weight gain during pregnancy.
      The purpose of this study is to examine the use of a mobile application (mobile app) and
      mobile website for encouraging and maintaining healthy behaviors such as healthy eating,
      regular exercise, and stress management and reduction during pregnancy. The study will
      include collaborative group-based health behavior challenges for pregnant women living in the
      United States. The study will test the effectiveness of the intervention on improving
      maternal health behaviors. The proposed research project will examine if an intervention
      targeting healthy eating and exercise leads to significantly less weight gained during
      pregnancy versus a comparison group that receives stress reduction and management content.
    

Detailed description: 
      The purpose of this study is to test the effects of a mobile app and study website for a
      gestational weight gain intervention targeted to pregnant women living anywhere in the United
      States (n=130). Participants will be assigned to groups of 8-12 and assigned to two
      conditions: intervention or comparison. The intervention groups will receive a weight-related
      intervention (focused on fruit and vegetable intake, self-regulation of foods, and physical
      activity (PA)), while the comparison groups will receive a non-diet/PA health behavior
      program (focused on sleep, stress reduction, mental health, and stress management).
      Participants will be instructed on how to use the a commercially available free mobile app
      and study website. Each week for 12 consecutive weeks, participants will receive a health
      related behavioral goal through the mobile app. Participants can track their goal
      achievements through the app and connect with other pregnant women in the study. The study
      website will have participants log daily body weight or stress level, based on their
      respective group assignments. The study website will also offer 10 podcasts and weekly
      pregnancy tips related to the study content of both groups. Participants will also be asked
      to complete three online surveys and provide a report of body weight at three time points
      throughout pregnancy. Participants will receive an incentive gift for their participation.

      The proposed research project is significant for several reasons: (1) rates of overweight and
      obesity among pregnant and postpartum women are increasing, (2) overweight and obesity is
      associated with unfavorable maternal and child health outcomes and (3) past research has
      demonstrated the importance of providing social support during pregnancy to reduce antenatal
      and postpartum depression.

      The proposed research project is innovative for several reasons: (1) current modes of
      delivering interventions are costly and may be limited in reach and scope while mobile
      technology provides a solution to these burdens, (2) this intervention is the first of its
      kind to utilize a commercially-available mobile app to address GWG among pregnant women
      living in the US, (3) using mobile technology for all aspects of the study will allow greater
      reach to rural populations who have limited ability to regularly receive health information,
      and (4) this intervention will employ social support strategies by grouping pregnant women
      into small groups assigned with a weekly weight-related health goal.
    

Intervention name(s): Healthy Eating and Physical Activity; Stress Reduction and Management
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Participants will be assigned to a group of 8-10 other pregnant women to work towards the same healthy eating or physical activity behavior challenge each week for a total of 12 weeks. The challenges will not require travel or financial support, but will focus on modifying or encouraging daily lifestyle activities, such as "drink 8 full glasses of water 3 times this week." Participants will track their healthy eating and physical activity behaviors in a mobile app. The HEPA condition will have access to podcasts and informational tips for having a healthy pregnancy through the study website. The HEPA condition will be able to log their weight on a daily basis and track their overall weight gain on a chart through the study website.; Participants will be put into a group of 8-10 other pregnant women to work towards the same stress reduction and management goal each week for a total of 12 weeks. The challenges will not require travel or financial support, but will focus on modifying or encouraging daily lifestyle activities, such as "take a 15 minute technology break each day this week." Participants will track their stress reduction and management behaviors in a mobile app. In addition, the SRAM condition will have access to meditation podcasts and informational tips for having a healthy pregnancy through the study website. Lastly, the SRAM condition will be able to rate their stress level on a daily basis and track their stress on a graph.
Other intervention name(s): HEPA; SRAM
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Pregnancy; Weight; Gestational weight gain; Stress reduction; Exercise