Feedback on Instagram posts for a gestational weight gain intervention

Abstract

Lay Summary Lifestyle interventions can facilitate healthy gestational weight gain but attending in-person meetings can be challenging. The majority of young women use Instagram and pregnancy is a popular topic, suggesting that Instagram might be a means to deliver a pregnancy weight gain intervention. In this study, we asked pregnant women with pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity to join a private group on Instagram and provide feedback on intervention posts about healthy eating and physical activity during pregnancy. All participants followed the moderator’s account, 73% followed all other participants, participants engaged with 100% of study posts, 82% felt comfortable sharing in the group, and 73% would participate in a similar group if pregnant in the future. Participants shared their opinions of the posts in a focus group. While participants felt that the posts were visually attractive and included helpful information, they wanted more personalized content and felt reluctant to post photos they felt were not “Instagram worthy”. Moderators should foster an environment in which participants feel comfortable posting unedited, authentic photos of their lives, perhaps by sharing personal photos that are relatable and represent their own imperfect lives. These findings will inform further development and testing of an Instagram-delivered gestational weight gain intervention.

Interest in an Instagram-delivered gestational weight gain intervention among pregnant women with pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity

“…Additionally, some participants expressed concern that other women would make negative judgments about their bodies, weight gain, food choices, or exercise habits. This finding echoes concerns about being shamed and stigmatized shared by women with pre-pregnancy obesity in previous studies ( 15 , 31 ). Women also referenced the possibility of feeling bad about themselves after comparing themselves to other women in the group, which aligns with the results of a survey of pregnant women in the UK which found that half compared their pregnancy to others on Facebook, and the more women compared themselves on Facebook, the more negative they felt about their body ( 32 ).…”

“…Together, our results suggest a focus on fostering a positive, supportive group culture may be key to engaging women in Instagram-delivered lifestyle interventions. In a previous study, pregnant women suggested that setting clear expectations that photos don’t have to be “Instagram worthy” and having the interventionist model sharing unedited photos of their own imperfect life as ways to create a supportive group culture and promote engagement in an Instagram-delivered GWG intervention ( 15 ). Social media-delivered intervention components focused on body positivity and self-compassion have been perceived positively by pregnant women ( 34 ) and new mothers ( 35 ), and may buffer against the potential for developing unhealthy behaviors.…”

“…In post-intervention focus groups, participants noted they enjoyed sharing photos and seeing other women’s photos, further suggesting that an image-based platform may foster engagement in a GWG intervention—and thus, potentially improve rates of GWG within recommended ranges. As part of a user-centered process to develop an Instagram-delivered GWG intervention ( 14 , 15 ), the current study assessed interest in our proposed intervention among the target population of pregnant women with pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity who use Instagram.…”

Women's perspectives on mHealth behavior change interventions for the management of overweight, obesity, or gestational diabetes: A qualitative meta‐synthesis

“…37,41,48 Six studies also employed questionnaires and surveys to obtain additional data. 37,38,49,57,60,62 All studies included in the review had high CASP scores, with two scores of 17 and the remainder between 18-20 out of a maximum score of 20.…”

Development and feasibility of a web-based gestational weight gain intervention for women with pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity

“…Many people turn to Instagram for information and support during their pregnancies (63), and as of late November 2022, 24.6 million and 20.7 million Instagram posts included the hashtags #pregnant or #pregnancy, respectively. In our previous work, we found that creating a private group on Instagram was feasible and acceptable to pregnant women, including switching to a second account to view intervention content, and that the majority of women in the study would be interested in receiving a lifestyle intervention on this platform (64) Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the noncommercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.…”