The aim of this study was to explore healthcare professionals' views on the development of multicomponent interventions for obese pregnant women. A cohort of 22 healthcare professionals was interviewed. The interview transcripts were analysed thematically. Three key themes were highlighted by the interviews: (1) the lack of existing services for obese pregnant women in south-east London; (2) the barriers and challenges that need to be overcome (e.g. ethnic and cultural) when considering the creation of a new service for obese women who are pregnant; (3) the possible components of a new intervention. The findings of this study will inform the design of a programme to combat maternal obesity.Keywords Obesity, overweight, pregnancy, programmes.Please cite this paper as: Oteng-Ntim E, Pheasant H, Khazaezadeh N, Mohidden A, Bewley S, Wong J, Oke B. Developing a community-based maternal obesity intervention: a qualitative study of service providers ' views. BJOG 2010;117:1651-1655. IntroductionObesity is a global epidemic and, if current trends continue, 50% of the UK female population is predicted to be obese by 2050.1 An escalating proportion of pregnant women are obese, 2 and obesity is associated with an increased rate of complications in mother and baby, e.g. maternal death, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, stillbirth and neonatal death.2 Maternal obesity is also a major contributor to the development of childhood obesity. The national prevalence of maternal obesity is estimated to be 15%. However, the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH) found that 27% of women who died between 2003 and 2005 were obese, and that 30% of mothers who had a stillbirth or neonatal death were obese, 3 suggesting that obesity is a contributor to poor outcome. In response to these findings, CEMACH provided recommendations for the management of maternal obesity, including the need for the development of national guidelines. The English Government has put in place a strategy to tackle obesity (Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives), recognising the challenge posed by obesity in pregnancy and making recommendations to mitigate its effect. At a local level, Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) are expected to commission or develop services that assist with the identification and treatment of pregnant obese women. However, recent systematic reviews on weight management in pregnancy have concluded that there is no evidence of the effectiveness of dietary 4 and/or physical activity interventions 5 in pregnancy. No published study could be found in the literature on providers' views of interventions to address obesity in pregnancy. The aim of this study was to gain an insight into the thoughts and views of healthcare providers managing obese pregnant women in order to help inform the development of an effective intervention. MethodsA total of 22 service providers was identified. Twelve were internal to the National Health Service (NHS), eight of which were clinical, and 10 were external, three of which were experienced in tackling mat...

Obesity is increasingly a matter of concern in the general population, but maternal obesity has received limited emphasis compared to adult and childhood obesity. In addition there is a lack of evidence regarding service users' views. A qualitative study was conducted to identify and understand the health-care needs of service users in Lambeth in south-east London. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six obese pregnant women and three obese women trying to conceive. The lack of awareness of obesity as well as the lack of existing services was acknowledged. The need to develop and implement evidence-based care pathways which focus on improving the identification and management of obesity and include a community-based multi-component, and culturally sensitive intervention was recommended. This feasibility study has highlighted key issues raised by women given the limited evidence of effectiveness around interventions for this target group.