Changes in partners' and mothers' diets and lifestyle behaviours during pregnancy

Abstract

Introduction: The World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases aims to reduce lifestyle risk factors to reduce preventable burdens of disease. Pregnancy is a transition period where individuals are more open to change. Mothers are often advised to make changes to their diet and lifestyle, whereas partners do not receive any recommendations. There is currently limited literature addressing partners’ lifestyle behaviour changes during pregnancy and has yet to be explored within the New Zealand context. Aims: To describe the reported changes in partners’ and mothers’ diets and lifestyle behaviours during pregnancy, the sociodemographic determinants of these changes, and the associations between partners’ and mothers’ dietary and lifestyle changes. Methods: This thesis utilises data from the Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) study, specifically data from the mother (n=6,822) and partner (n=4,401) datasets of the antenatal data collection wave. Data pertaining to mothers’ and partners’ diet (food groups/items avoided and/or added during pregnancy), lifestyle changes (alcohol use, smoking and physical activity habits), and sociodemographic characteristics (ethnicity, age, socioeconomic deprivation, level of education) were used. Descriptive statistics were used to report dietary and lifestyle behaviour changes. Pearson chi-square tests were used to determine association between mothers’ and partners’ lifestyle behaviour changes and their sociodemographic characteristics. Univariate and multivariate Poisson regressions with robust variance were used to examine associations between mothers’ and partners’ diet and lifestyle behaviour changes. Results: The respective proportions of mothers and partners who made specific changes to diet in pregnancy were: adding fruit and/or vegetables (15.8% and 19.2%), avoiding alcohol (56.5% and 15.1%), SSBs (22.9% and 13.2%), takeaways (30.7% and 9.9%) and high listeria risk food items (ranging from 0.9% for hummus to 32.7% for raw/cold meats and eggs among mothers and from 0.3% for hummus to 9.9% for takeaways among partners). Alcohol consumption reduced overall, with 43.0% of mothers quitting and 43.2% of partners reducing intake. Among mothers and partners, respectively, 26.3% and 43.4% reported changes in physical activity habits, meanwhile 9.9% of mothers reported quitting smoking and 16.3% of partners reported quitting or reducing number of cigarettes smoked. All diet and lifestyle behaviour changes of mothers and partners during pregnancy were associated with at least one sociodemographic characteristic. There was significant association between mothers and partners during pregnancy for: avoidance of alcohol, avoidance of SSBs, addition of fruit and/or vegetables, and non-smoking status, independent of partners’ sociodemographic characteristics. Conclusions: In conclusion, most mothers and partners made dietary and lifestyle changes during pregnancy, and these behaviours were associated with sociodemographic factors. Mothers who made positive changes in diet and smoking habits during pregnancy were more likely to have partners who also reported these positive changes during pregnancy. Future research could explore the reasonings and intentions behind these lifestyle changes (and lack thereof) during pregnancy. Findings also suggest that partners of expectant mothers should be incorporated in routine antenatal care that embraces dietary and lifestyle behaviour education.