Grant: Operating Grant

Each year among the 380 000 women who deliver an infant in Canada, 50% will exceed the recommended weight gain guidelines during pregnancy. Excessive weight gain during pregnancy has been associated with negative health outcomes for both mother and infant. Interventions to promote healthy weight gain during pregnancy have reported mixed results. Eating behaviour and weight gain is recognized as complex, influenced by sociodemographic, biomedical, behavioural and psychosocial factors. In comparison to other dimensions, psychosocial factors have been largely neglected in relation to weight gain during pregnancy. While pregnancy is considered a joyful occasion, it is also a major life event with the potential for increased stress, anxiety and depressed mood. Little is known about how a woman's mental state during pregnancy is related to eating behaviour, weight gain and weight retention postpartum. The present study is timely, in that is proposes to examine the role of these modifiable variables to weight gain during this critical period. The findings will inform clinical practice guidelines and guide the design of more effective interventions to prevent excess weight gain during pregnancy, and ultimately improve outcomes for both mothers and their infants.