SynthesisMaternal & child nutrition2017
Pregnant women's perceptions of gestational weight gain: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative research.
Synthesis in Maternal & child nutrition, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
67 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Physical activity during pregnancy and gestational weight gain depending on pre-pregnancy body mass index: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Pooled it
- Association Between Gestational Weight Gain and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Offspring: A Meta-Analysis.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2020Pooled it
- Pregnant women's perceptions of gestational weight gain: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative research.Maternal & child nutrition · 2017Pooled it
- Implementation and Evaluation of a Weight Management Programme for Overweight or Obese Pregnant Women:Sultan Qaboos University medical journal · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Be Healthy in Pregnancy: Exploring factors that impact pregnant women's nutrition and exercise behaviours.Maternal & child nutrition · 2021Trial
- Effects of a lifestyle intervention during pregnancy to prevent excessive gestational weight gain in routine care - the cluster-randomised GeliS trial.BMC medicine · 2019Trial
- Weight and body image during pregnancy: a qualitative study of the experience of pregnant women, midwives and dietitians.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2026Article
- Knowledge, attitude, and practices on gestational weight gain among pregnant women, partners, female household members, and healthcare providers: a mixed-method study in Tanzania.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Perceptions of gestational weight gain in Turkish women: a qualitative study guided by a socio-ecological model.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Delivering optimal weight gain advice to pregnant women by lead maternity carer midwives in a real-world setting to optimise health outcomes (DOT study): a case study protocol.BMC public health · 2025Article
- I know i'm not meant to 'diet' but is it ok to lose a few pounds while pregnant?: a qualitative analysis of Mumsnet discussion forum posts to understand women's experiences of and views on weight and weight management while living with excess weight during and after pregnancy.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Implementing clinical guidelines for gestational weight gain care: a novel application of best-worst scaling to prioritise barriers.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- From "Eating for Two" to Food Insecurity: Understanding Weight Gain Perspective During Pregnancy Among Malaysian Women.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Pregnancy and weight gain: a scoping review of women's perceptions and experiences with stigma.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Predictive factors of maternal obesity and its effects on pregnancy symptoms and sexuality: a hospital-based study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Patterns of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep across pregnancy before and during two COVID pandemic years.Midwifery · 2025Observational
- Neuroactive steroids in the programming of neurodevelopment: implications of maternal obesity.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Review
- Article
7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Excess gestational weight gain has numerous negative health outcomes for women and children, including high blood pressure, diabetes, and cesarean section (maternal) and high birth weight, trauma at birth, and asphyxia (infants). Excess weight gain in pregnancy is associated with a higher risk of long-term obesity in both mothers and children. Despite a concerted public health effort, the proportion of pregnant women gaining weight in excess of national guidelines continues to increase. To understand this phenomenon and offer suggestions for improving interventions, we conducted a systematic review of qualitative research on pregnant women's perceptions and experiences of weight gain in pregnancy. We used the methodology of qualitative meta-synthesis to analyze 42 empirical qualitative research studies conducted in high-income countries and published between 2005 and 2015. With this synthesis, we provide an account of the underlying factors and circumstances (barriers, facilitators, and motivators) that pregnant women identify as important for appropriate weight gain. We also offer a description of the strategies identified by pregnant women as acceptable and appropriate ways to promote healthy weight gain. Through our integrative analysis, we identify women's common perception on the struggle to enact health behaviors and physical, social, and environmental factors outside of their control. Effective and sensitive interventions to encourage healthy weight gain in pregnancy must consider the social environment in which decisions about weight take place.
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