Health professional's treatment of gestational overweight and obesity at an antenatal clinic in Kenya

Abstract: Aim:  To describe health professional's treatment of pregnant overweight or obese women at an antenatal clinic in Nairobi, Kenya. Method: A descriptive qualitative method was used including interviews with 11 health professionals at an antenatal clinic in Nairobi, Kenya. The interviews were semi-structured and consisted of five open-ended question. The result was then analysed through a systematic content analyse. Result: Four categories were identified. The methods used to state gestational overweight or obesity were weighting and assessing from the previous weight. BMI was also measured. The most common intervention is counselling on diet and lifestyle. Some respondents mentioned referral to nutritionist and also multidisciplinary involvement. Many of the respondents stated however that gestational overweight and obesity is very rare and that they don't have any specific routines or interventions. Conclusion: The basic measures used to survey  pregnant women´s weight are  pre- pregnant weight, continuously weighting and measuring BMI are used. There are also basic interventions such as counselling on diet and exercise. However, gestational overweight or obesity is not a prioritised issue at Kenyatta National Hospital and few routines and interventions exist. This study demonstrates the necessity for training and educating the staff to raise awareness about the risks gestational overweight or obesity implies. It also highlights the need of clear guidelines on how manage gestational overweight and obesity.