The impact of a midwife-led maternal healthy lifestyle service on pregnancy outcomes and childhood obesity was evaluated by comparing data from the service and the views of women who used the service against data from an NHS Trust where such a service not available.
Women with a BMI≥40kg/m² offered the maternal healthy lifestyle service did not gain less weight during pregnancy than women who were not offered such a service. Women described being at different stages of readiness to accept weight management and felt stigmatised for being obese rather than provided with practical advice on what they could do during pregnancy. Children born to women who had attended the service were as likely to be overweight or obese by school age than children born to women who did not attend the service.
