Eating Behaviors in Postpartum: A Qualitative Study of Women with Obesity

Abstract

In postpartum, women experience major changes in their lives; they are forced to deal with new internal and external demands for attention and care for themselves and the baby. Postpartum feeding also suffers changes in this stage of life, because women find more barriers to healthy eating, which can put them at greater risk of overweight or obesity. This is a qualitative study, through in-depth semi-directed interviews in an intentional sample with postpartum women with obesity, closed by saturation and qualitative content analysis. Sixteen women were included. Three categories emerged from this analysis: (1) from pregnancy to postpartum: changes in body and eating behavior; (2) eating to fill the void of helplessness felt during the postpartum period; and (3) breastfeeding and baby feeding. Women with obesity eat to relieve unpleasant feelings during the postnatal period. The postpartum period is an opportune moment to introduce long-term changes in the eating behaviors and mental wellbeing of these women. Healthcare teams need to restructure to provide more focused follow-up care for women with obesity during the postnatal period in terms of their physical and emotional health.

Associations of Body Mass Index with Demographics, Lifestyle, Food Intake, and Mental Health among Postpartum Women: A Structural Equation Approach

“…Previous studies have shown that excessive weight gain in the year following childbirth is caused by maternal obesity. Besides, pregnancy with obesity also intensifies food insecurity and lowers the quality of food intake [20]. The path coefficient between food intake and BMI in both models denotes a significant relationship, which has been reported in prior studies [20,85].…”

“…Besides, pregnancy with obesity also intensifies food insecurity and lowers the quality of food intake [20]. The path coefficient between food intake and BMI in both models denotes a significant relationship, which has been reported in prior studies [20,85]. Based on the factor analysis (Table 5) for urban areas, the soft drinks indicator has the highest value among the indicators.…”

“…A previous study also investigated and found the sleep indicator's effect on BMI [26]. Women typically do less physical activity during pregnancy [20,84]. Still, evidence [4] suggests that light to moderate-intensity physical activity, including aerobic and resistance exercise should be encouraged for 30-60 min, 3-5 times per week without adverse effects in healthy pregnant women.…”

“…Few research articles noted and clarified the indicators of obesity and overweight among postpartum women [20,21], and we categorized them into four main groups of indicators related to demographics, food behaviour, health, and lifestyle. The next paragraphs explain how, in previous studies, it was mentioned that those variables were related to their BMI (as a representative of obesity).…”

Tracking of Maternal Diet from Pregnancy to Postpregnancy: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies

“…Taken together, the evidence suggests that transition from pregnancy to motherhood is generally associated with poorer dietary statuses, likely stemming from poor dietary behaviors such as the progressive increase in intake of energy-dense, nutrient-poor food and a decline in the consumption of healthy food. Although an improvement in dietary behaviors during pregnancy was commonly reported, these healthy habits acquired during the prenatal period tend to be less adhered to after delivery ( 13 , 20 , 21 , 27 , 61 , 65 ), highlighting the need to reinforce the importance of postpregnancy nutrition to new mothers.…”