Table 3 Interview questions and example responses by content area: obstetricians
Content area | Question | Example obstetrician responses |
|---|---|---|
Communication about gestational weight gain | What is your philosophy about discussing pregnancy weight gain with your patients? | I talk to all my patients about what their starting BMI is, and what their expected weight gain will be during the pregnancy…And I let them know that I will be checking in on their weight at every visit.—Female |
I will usually not talk about it at the first visit ‘cause there’s a lot of other things at that point, and frequently nausea is still an issue and worrying about how much they will gain is less important than keeping down what they are currently eating. Usually, slightly before or at the midway point I’ll talk about that, and just tell them what I think they’re on a rate to gain, as an estimate, and whether I think that’s good or not.—Male | ||
The content of advice: nutrition and physical activity | What do you advise your patients about nutrition, physical activity, and weight gain? | I think exercise is really important, and gets put to the side. A lot of people have the perception that you can’t exercise during pregnancy, so just educating that you can and should continue exercise…I feel like people have a little bit more leeway or latitude with what they eat if they’re consistently active. And so I keep stressing that.—Female |
Those that are sedentary at the beginning of pregnancy, I generally recommend they start walking, or something that’s equally low impact, at least three days a week for 30 minutes.—Male | ||
Postpartum weight management | What do you tell your patients about weight loss in the postpartum period? | [I] generally advise women that very few women are back to their pre-pregnancy weight at the time of the six-week visit, but that…starting to increase their activity…or getting back into an exercise routine, is really the best way.—Female |
I usually don’t talk about this until the six-week postpartum checkup… Many of my patients actually by six weeks are back to their normal weight. Those that aren’t, I don’t think I ever give them a hard time about it, but we do try to talk about diet and exercise at that visit.—Male |