Sources of Information About Gestational Weight Gain, Diet, and Exercise Among Brazilian Immigrant Women Living in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Study (Preprint)
Authors: Lindsay Ana Cristina , Le Qun , Lima Nogueira Denise , Tavares Machado Márcia Maria , Greaney Mary L. 
Published: August 2020

BACKGROUND

Background: Gestational weight gain (GWG) has been identified as one of the most important modifiable risk factors associated with short- and long-term health outcomes for both a woman and her newborn. Adoption of healthy lifestyles (e.g., diet, physical activity, etc.) during pregnancy has the potential to prevent excess GWG and reduce adverse health risks in pregnancy and beyond. Pregnant women’s access to accurate and evidence-based information about GWG, diet, and physical activity is key to promoting healthy GWG.

Conclusions: To our knowledge currently no mHealth interventions are available in the United States for pregnant Brazilian immigrant women. The fact that women in our study were actively seeking information about GWG, diet, and exercise in the Internet suggests the potential for mHealth interventions to deliver linguistic and culturally tailored evidence-based information incorporating behavioral change practices through a low-cost, easy access method to this growing immigrant population in the United States.

OBJECTIVE

Objective: This study sought to assess sources used by first-time pregnant Brazilian women to seek information about GWG, diet, and exercise during pregnancy.

METHODS

Methods: Cross-sectional survey of first-time pregnant Brazilian women living in Massachusetts, United States.

RESULTS

Results: Eighty-six women participated in the study. The majority of the women were born in Brazil (96.5%; n = 83) and had lived in the United States for an average of 10.7 years (SD = 7.3). All women reported Portuguese as their primary language and 67.4% (n = 58) were classified as having low acculturation levels. The mean gestation was 27.5 weeks (SD = 5.6; range 14 – 38 weeks) and 25.6% (n = 22) self-reported being overweight pre-pregnancy. Overall, about two-thirds of the women had actively sought information about GWG (72.1%, n = 62), diet (79.1%, n = 68), and exercise (74.4%, n = 64) on the Internet during pregnancy. Adjusting for age, women who were classified as having low acculturation levels were more likely to seek information about GWG on the Internet (OR = 5.35 [CI: 1.08 – 26.50]; p = 0.04) compared to women who were classified as having high acculturation levels. Moreover, approximately 67% (n = 59), 71% (n = 61), and 52% (n = 45) of the women reported actively seeking information about GWG, diet, and exercise from family and friends, respectively. Women who self-reported being overweight pre-pregnancy were more likely to report seeking information about GWG (OR=2.94 [CI:1.07–8.06], p = 0.04) and less likely to report seeking information about diet (OR=0.27 [0.09–0.75], p = 0.01) and exercise (OR=0.30 [CI: 0.11–0.86], p = 0.02) from family and friends compared to women who self-reported normal weight pre-pregnancy.

CONCLUSIONS

Conclusions: To our knowledge currently no mHealth interventions are available in the United States for pregnant Brazilian immigrant women. The fact that women in our study were actively seeking information about GWG, diet, and exercise on the Internet suggests the potential for mHealth interventions to deliver linguistic and culturally tailored evidence-based information incorporating behavioral change practices through a low-cost, easy access method to this growing immigrant population in the United States.