Effects of a Lifestyle Intervention in Routine Care on Short- and Long-Term Maternal Weight Retention and Breastfeeding Behavior—12 Months Follow-up of the Cluster-Randomized GeliS Trial

• Main Authors: Julia Hoffmann, Julia Günther, Lynne Stecher, Monika Spies, Dorothy Meyer, Julia Kunath, Roxana Raab, Kathrin Rauh, Hans Hauner
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-06-01
• Series: Journal of Clinical Medicine
• Subjects: weight retention; breastfeeding; lifestyle intervention; pregnancy; obesity prevention; routine care; gestational weight gain; postpartum; long-term; follow-up
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/8/6/876

Postpartum weight retention (PPWR) is associated with an increased risk for maternal obesity and is discussed to be influenced by breastfeeding. The objective was to evaluate the effect of a lifestyle intervention delivered three times during pregnancy and once in the postpartum period on PPWR and on maternal breastfeeding behavior. In total, 1998 participants of the cluster-randomized &#8220;healthy living in pregnancy&#8221; (GeliS) trial were followed up until the 12th month postpartum (T2_pp). Data were collected using maternity records and questionnaires. Data on breastfeeding behavior were collected at T2_pp. At T2_pp, mean PPWR was lower in women receiving counseling (IV) compared to the control group (C) (&#8722;0.2 &#177; 4.8 kg vs. 0.6 &#177; 5.2 kg), but there was no significant evidence of between-group differences (adjusted <i>p</i> = 0.123). In the IV, women lost more weight from delivery until T2_pp compared to the C (adjusted <i>p</i> = 0.008) and showed a slightly higher rate of exclusive breastfeeding (IV: 87.4%; C: 84.4%; adjusted <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001). In conclusion, we found evidence for slight improvements of maternal postpartum weight characteristics and the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in women receiving a lifestyle intervention embedded in routine care, although the clinical meaning of these findings is unclear.