Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College

College of Nursing

First Advisor

Julie Barroso

Second Advisor

Gayenell Magwood

Third Advisor

Linda Andrist

Abstract

Research has highlighted the growing prevalence of obesity across the age spectrum, including childbearing women. There have been numerous studies on maternal and fetal complications in mothers who are obese and pregnant; however, little is known about the experiences and feelings of the women who are pregnant and obese. This dissertation is a compendium of three manuscripts. The first manuscript is an integrative review that examines motivators and barriers in health behavior intervention studies in pregnant women who are obese, using the transtheoretical model stages of change. The second and third manuscripts are the result of a qualitative descriptive study that explored the experiences and feelings of the pregnant woman who is obese regarding her weight prior to and during pregnancy. The second manuscript details the women’s experiences and feelings regarding the changes pregnancy has made and how it has impacted their opinions of their bodies. Pregnancy had allowed many of the women who participated in this study to gain a sense of achievement and embrace the changes they had seen in their bodies resulting from the pregnancy. The final manuscript explores how pregnant women who are obese relate to their identified support systems prior to and during pregnancy. The majority of the women in the study identified a solid support system to assist them through the pregnancy, including their partner, prenatal care providers, family, and friends and co-workers. Each of these social support groups had opportunities to provide support to the women which can impact the women’s overall emotional health and well-being. Finally, the findings of the study are integrated at the conclusion of this dissertation. Pregnancy offers a unique time to implement positive health behavior change interventions which can be more successful by identifying barriers and motivators to the women’s participation prior to the start of the intervention.

Rights

All rights reserved. Copyright is held by the author.

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