Women & health
-
Latina women are at high risk of excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) during pregnancy; yet little is known about whether factors related to GWG differ by pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) within this population. We conducted in-depth interviews with 62 pregnant Latina women with pre-pregnancy BMIs in the healthy, overweight, and obese ranges, gestational age ≥22 weeks, and GWG for gestational age above Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines. Compared to healthy weight and obese women, overweight women least often reported viewing weight as important, making efforts to control their GWG, being aware of the role of diet on GWG, and receiving GWG advice from health-care providers. ⋯ Obese women more often reported low acceptance of their GWG, concern about GWG, having received GWG advice from providers, difficulty following providers' dietary advice, and emotional eating as a challenge for controlling GWG. Participants welcomed practical advice to manage GWG. Future interventions to prevent excessive GWG among Latina women should consider differences among women of varying pre-pregnancy BMIs and include multi-level strategies to address psychosocial as well as provider factors.
-
Several studies have revealed a negative association between blood lead levels and hematological impairment. In this cross-sectional study, we examined the relationship between blood lead levels and hematological indices in 292 pregnant women from Durango, Mexico. Apparently healthy pregnant women, aged 14-41 years and at 3-41 weeks of gestation, were recruited between June 2007 and May 2008. ⋯ Mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin were not significantly related to lead levels. Hemoglobin and hematocrit showed a non-significant positive correlation with blood lead, but the correlation between red blood cell count and blood lead levels was statistically significant (r = 0.185, p = .002). The findings suggest that a positive association between blood lead and some hematological indices may occur at relatively low blood lead concentration (mean < 5 μg/dL).