Role of behavioural interventions in managing gestational weight gain in overweight and obese pregnant women: A Scoping Review

Purpose Women undergo various physiological, psychological, and hormonal changes during pregnancy. Approximately, two-thirds of expecting mothers gain excessive gestational weight beyond the recommended guidelines. Dietary habits, physical activity, and lifestyle choices can contribute to excessive gestational weight gain. Behavioural interventions encourage a healthy lifestyle by focusing on changing people’s actions to improve their health. Pregnant women who are overweight or obese may benefit from behavioural intervention in addition to dietary and exercise changes. The purpose of the review is to determine the impact of behavioural intervention on gestational weight gain in overweight and obese pregnant women. Methods A scoping review was conducted using Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, and ProQuest. Two independent review authors screened the title, abstract, and full text which met the inclusion criteria. The relevant studies and their reported outcomes were organized and analysed thematically. Results The search yielded 4704 records; 4089 entries were found after removing duplication and screening for title and abstract. This scoping review includes 8 of the 69 papers that were chosen for full text. The behavioural intervention was delivered through face-to-face in-depth counselling, followed by telephonic counselling about physical activity, dietary intake, and appropriate weight gain during pregnancy. Conclusions The review concluded that to achieve appropriate GWG, a unique approach that promotes a healthy diet and exercise through behavioural intervention is required. Adopting innovative strategies along with increasing the duration of interaction with pregnant women may result in behaviour change, which may facilitate adequate gestational weight gain.