Obesity
Conditions
Keywords
obesity, pregnant women, nutrition assessment, health behavior
Brief summary
The Delta Healthy Sprouts Project is a randomized, controlled trial evaluating the enhancement of an existing Mother, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program in 150 African American women in their early second trimester of pregnancy. The control arm, Parents as Teachers, is an evidence-based approach to increase parental knowledge of child development and improve parenting practices. The experimental arm, Parents as Teachers Enhanced, builds on the Parents as Teachers curriculum by including nutrition and physical activity components specifically designed for the gestational and postnatal periods. Both arms of the intervention will be implemented by community-based, trained Parent Educators. The comparative effectiveness of the two intervention arms on weight status, dietary intake, and health behaviors of mothers and their infants will be assessed. The Delta Healthy Sprouts Project will determine if a novel, scalable, lifestyle intervention can improve the health of African American women and their children at high-risk for obesity and chronic disease.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALParents as Teachers Enhanced
Participants will receive the same monthly Parents as Teachers (PaT) lessons and materials at each home visit as the PaT arm. Additionally, these mothers will receive the enhanced nutrition and physical activity lessons and materials which will follow the family well-being format of the PaT lessons. The StartSmart lessons will focus on healthy gestational weight gain, diet, physical activity, breastfeeding, weight management, healthy eating, food shopping, meal preparation, physical activity, proper infant feeding, and infant activity time.
BEHAVIORALParents as Teachers
Participants will receive monthly Parents as Teachers (PaT) lessons and materials at each home visit. The Parent Educator will first connect with the mother by discussing or reviewing content from the prior visit; reflect on the mother's experience with continuing the parent-child activity from the prior visit; and agree on what will happen during the current visit. For the lesson plan, the Parent Educator will cover the following three areas using discussion, activities, and handouts: parent-child interaction, develop-centered parenting, and family well-being. In closing, the Parent Educator will review and evaluate the visit, talk about the mother's next step, and plan for the next visit.
Sponsors
USDA, Delta Human Nutrition Research Program
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* At least 18 years of age * Less than 18 weeks pregnant with first, second, or third child * Resident of Mississippi counties of Washington and Bolivar
Exclusion criteria
* Pregnant with more than one fetus
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Infant body mass index | 12 months after birth | Incremental body mass index during the first year of life |
| Infant dietary intake | 12 months after birth | Dietary intake measured using 24-hour dietary recall as reported by mother |
| Infant activity | 12 months after birth | Activity measured using responses to questions concerning time spent confined (e.g. in infant seat) and unconfined (e.g. on play mat) |
| Gestational weight gain | 9 months gestation | Percentages of gestational weight gain which fall within the ranges recommended by the Institute of Medicine (based on pre-pregnancy body mass index) |
| Maternal postpartum weight retention | 12 months postnatal | Amount of weight retained at 12 months postpartum compared to self-reported pre-pregnancy weight |
| Maternal dietary intake | 12 months postpartum | Dietary intake measured using 24-hour dietary recall |
| Maternal physical activity | 12 months postpartum | Physical activity measured using a physical activity questionnaire |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Home food environment | 12 months postpartum | Measured using home food inventory; based on direct observation of foods in household (i.e. in refrigerator, freezer, pantry, cupboards, or other areas food is stored) |
| Breastfeeding | 12 months postpartum | Breastfeeding initiation and continuation for first 12 months after birth of infant |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed