Assessment of Association between Mothers Weight Maintenance with Health Promoting Lifestyle and Functional Status during 6 Month's after Childbirth in Women attending Ardebil Health Centers, 2014-2015

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: Weight gain is one of the major complications during pregnancy. Weight gain during pregnancy ranges from weight loss zone to weight gain up to 30 kilograms. Postpartum weight retention endangers the health of women within fertility period and may lead to cardiovascular disease and breast cancer. The higher weight during the pregnancy, the harder is the weight loss and the more the weigh retention. Life style is a set of daily patterns, including nutrition, diet, rest, cigarette, physical activity, stress management, and use of sanitary service. One’s life style is affected by one’s health status and behavior for improving health and healthy life style. These two leading strategies could facilitate and preserve the health. The functional status of mothers is a multidimensional concepts, which is measured by tests and experiences. Such a concept includes measuring capability and women tendency toward appropriate care of the newly born baby, personal cares for working at home, and social and professional activities. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the range of weight retention and its relationship with life style and functional condition of women 6 months after their pregnancy. Materials and method The present cross-sectional study is carried out on women of Ardabil Town, Iran. A total of 307 qualified labored women was selected among those who referred to the health centers of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences from July 2015 to November 2016. Multistage random sampling was performed for this purpose. After random selection of one third of the sample from all health centers of the Ardabil City, the case of those women, who labored six months ago were assessed and a number of them was selected from each center (in stratified random way). Using a scale, the weight of women at beginning of pregnancy was extracted and compared with their weigh six months after the pregnancy. Each participant filled a questionnaire on functional status, promoting healthy lifestyles and one on social-personal specifications. Weight retention is the difference between weight at the beginning of pregnancy and weigh, six months after that. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS Software and two-variant tests, including Pearson, independent t, and one way variance analysis. Then, multiple regression test was used to control the confounding factors. Findings: the mean (standard deviation) for weight retention in women six months after pregnancy was 0/52 kilogram (9/99). There was an inverse correlation between all health-promoting life style subdomains (nutrition, interpersonal relations, health accountability, stress management, physical activity, and spiritual growth) and weight retention, which was significant, statistically. There was an inverse correlation between functional status subdomains (home responsibility, social activity, caring the baby, and self-care) and weight retention, which was significant, statistically. Employment was only subdomain of functional status, which has no correlation with weight retention. Conclusion: the obtained results indicated that the range of weight retention in most similar studies was lower and the range of weight retention six months after the pregnancy is desirable (about 0.5 kilogram). There was an inverse and significant relationship between all subdomains of health-promoting life style and the range of weight retention. The same result was also evident in all subdomains functional status (except job) and weight retention. This suggests a negative relationship between favorable life style and the performance of women with obesity. Concerning the number of women at fertility age, the significance of obesity, and its relationship with performance and life style training and planning for interventions in order to prevent obesity in women after pregnancy is one of the major preferences of the health system.