Abstract
BackgroundPregnancy is a critical time for fetal development, and education of women regarding healthy lifestyle choices is an important function for prenatal care providers, those that provide care to women during pregnancy. Within Canada, women choose to receive pregnancy care from one of a variety of publicly funded care providers. This study examines the association between the type of care provider(s) seen during pregnancy and the provision of advice related to nutrition, weight management and substance abuse.MethodsUsing data from the Alberta-based All Our Families prospective pregnancy cohort, we conducted bivariate and multivariate analyses to determine the likelihood of receiving advice related to nutrition, weight management, and substance abuse across provider(s) seen.ResultsOf 3341 women in our sample, 38% saw a single provider during pregnancy and 56% received care from multiple providers. Advice on nutrition was more likely to be provided across all providers, while weight management and substance abuse was less frequently and less consistently discussed. Relative to doctors in low-risk maternity clinics, midwives were most likely to provide nutrition (OR: 3.09, 95% CI: 1.19–8.01) and weight management (OR: 1.99, 95% CI: 1.13–3.50) advice to women.ConclusionFindings suggest that the type of prenatal advice received by women depends on the provider(s) seen during pregnancy. Substance abuse was least likely to be discussed across providers, suggesting important implications given recent cannabis legalization.
Highlights
The prenatal period, which takes place between conception and birth, is a critical time for fetal development, and healthy growth depends heavily on maternal behaviours during this phase
Advice on nutrition was more likely to be provided across all providers, while weight management and substance abuse was less frequently and less consistently discussed
Relative to doctors in low-risk maternity clinics, midwives were most likely to provide nutrition (OR: 3.09, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.19–8.01) and weight management (OR: 1.99, 95% CI: 1.13–3.50) advice to women
Summary
The prenatal period, which takes place between conception and birth, is a critical time for fetal development, and healthy growth depends heavily on maternal behaviours during this phase For this reason, pregnancy is promoted as a teachable moment, a time when women are effortlessly motivated to adopt healthier behaviours in order to influence positive outcomes for themselves and their offspring [1]. Pregnancy is promoted as a teachable moment, a time when women are effortlessly motivated to adopt healthier behaviours in order to influence positive outcomes for themselves and their offspring [1] This provides an opportunity for care providers to educate women around the healthy lifestyle choices they can implement to support their and their offspring’s health and avoid preventable adversities [1,2,3,4,5]. This study examines the association between the type of care provider(s) seen during pregnancy and the provision of advice related to nutrition, weight management and substance abuse
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