Psychosocial Factors Associated with Gestational Weight Gain in a Low-Income Cohort

Background. Excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) causes negative maternal and child outcomes. Literature is sparse regarding reasons in high-risk low-income women. Purpose. Assess psychosocial factors associated with GWG using an adapted instrument based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Methods. Community health workers surveyed 101 low-income postpartum women. Results. Mean (SD) age was 24.6 (5.7) years, with 7% White, 66% Black, 22% Hispanic. Over half (58%) of the women reported overweight or obese body mass indices (BMI) prior to pregnancy; 49% had excessive GWG. Theory of planned behavior-informed constructs associated with less GWG included internal weight locus of control (B= -11.6 (-21.4, -1.9) pounds) and higher self-efficacy (B= -1.3 (-2.6, 0) pounds). Perinatal depression was associated with increased GWG (B=0.88 (0.1, 1.7) pounds). Conclusion. The theory of planned behavior is useful in understanding the association of psychosocial factors and GWG. More research is warranted to evaluate the generalizability of the findings prior to the development of an effective intervention.