Criticism about their weight from their loved ones - partners, family and friends - may make it harder for women to stay active and eat well during pregnancy and after giving birth, a University of Alberta study shows.
Surveys of 463 women showed that 85 per cent of them felt the sting of weight stigma during pregnancy from the people closest to them, and 74 per cent experienced it after giving birth, with the result that they were less likely to meet nutrition and physical activity guidelines.
The findings show how important their inner circle can be in helping expectant women stay healthy, says Dr. Taniya Nagpal, assistant professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation and co-author on the study.
"We can't forget that pregnant and postpartum women spend a lot of time outside the health-care realm, receiving advice from friends, partners, people they trust. So a family member telling a person that they 'look like they're having twins' - it's important for people to understand that remarks surrounding weight, too little or too much, may be perceived as judgmental and are really unhelpful."
In the study, the participants completed online surveys when they were at least 13 weeks along in their pregnancy and again three months after giving birth, reporting whether and how often they'd experienced weight-related judgment from those closest to them. They also reported their physical activity levels and whether their nutrition habits had improved, stayed the same, or worsened since becoming pregnant.
Expectant women who faced more frequent weight-shaming were less likely to meet nutrition guidelines, as well as movement recommendations both during and after pregnancy, the surveys showed. Along with that, the higher levels of criticism during pregnancy were linked to a lower likelihood of improving eating habits.
It's likely that judgmental comments from friends and relatives discourage - rather than motivate - women during and after their pregnancies, suggests Nagpal, who is also a member of the Women and Children's Health Research Institute.
