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Attitudes and Motivations for Healthy Eating Among Pregnant Women of Different Ethnic Backgrounds Following Antenatal Care in Oslo, Norway

Lisa Garnweidner-Holme, Laura Terragni, Kjell Sverre Pettersen and Annhild Mosdøl

Background: Rising proportions of women enter their pregnancies as overweight or gain weight excessively, increasing their risk of diet-related diseases such as gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. A good understanding of pregnant women’s attitudes and motivations toward healthy eating is essential for effective nutrition communication in antenatal care. However, only few studies have investigated attitudes and motivations toward healthy eating during and after pregnancy, and little is known about women of different ethnic backgrounds.
Objectives: To explore attitudes toward and motivations for healthy eating by pregnant women of different ethnic backgrounds. Methods: Individual interviews with 16 women were conducted twice during pregnancy and once three months postpartum. Ethnic Norwegian women (n=5), and women born in different African, Asian and South East European countries (n=11) participated in the study. An interpretative phenomenological approach inspired data collection and analysis. Findings were interpreted and discussed in relation to the Self-determination theory (SDT).
Results: Attitudes toward healthy eating changed due to pregnancy, but not all of the participants became more concerned about healthy eating. Three patterns were observed: pregnancy as a turn to healthier eating, also after given birth; healthy eating only during the pregnancy; and pregnancy as a ‘time-off’ from healthy eating. All three groups had both ethnic Norwegian women and women with immigrant backgrounds represented. Participants’ attitudes could be interpreted as having motivations with different degrees of self-autonomy.
Conclusions: Women seem to have heterogeneous patterns of change in attitudes and motivations toward healthy eating during and after their pregnancies. Tailored nutrition communication should assess and take into account women’s attitudes and motivations toward healthy eating and the extent to which these motivations are autonomously regulated.