Nurse-Family Partnership helps prevent childhood obesity
The opportunity to influence a child’s health and development begins even before the child is born, during pregnancy. The expectant mother’s health behaviors will influence her child’s health and development and this critical period will continue during the first two years of the child’s life.
These early health behaviors can have enduring effects on the child’s likelihood of being obese throughout his or her life course. The increasing rate of obesity among Americans has been shown to diminish quality of life, productivity and lifespan, while also posing a significant economic burden with the costs of health care. Children are more likely to be obese if they are born into low-income families.
In Nurse-Family Partnership, the nurse provides the expectant mom with information to help her make healthier choices on nutrition and prepare for the baby’s arrival. The nurse is also there to monitor her weight gain and assess her health to promote healthier outcomes for both her and her baby. After the baby’s arrival, the nurse continues to support the new mom to improve her child’s health and development throughout the first two years of the child’s life.
A recent study, published in 2017 in the American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing shows the effect of the program on childhood obesity – children participating in Nurse-Family Partnership were less likely to be obese if their mothers:
- Limited their pregnancy weight gain to 28 pounds or less
- Breastfed their infant for 20 weeks or more
- Began their pregnancy at a normal weight, compared to mothers who were overweight.
And if a mother exhibited more than one of these health behaviors, they were even more likely to have a healthy weight.
For more information on the study, please review the Preventing Childhood Obesity fact sheet.
Thorland, W., Currie, D., & Colangelo, C. (2017). Status of High Body Weight Among Nurse-Family Partnership Children. MCN. The American journal of maternal child nursing, 42(6), 352.