Supporting women to eat healthily and be active is recommended to reduce the risk of poor pregnancy, birth and chronic disease outcomes for both mother and child. Changing people’s behaviour by instruction and advice-giving, as used in traditional healthcare, is usually ineffective, and antenatal care providers report many barriers to having behaviour change conversations with women. This study looks at the impact of training in the Healthy Conversation Skills (HCS) method in increasing the competence of health care providers and addressing some of their barriers in this area.

Exercise during pregnancy promotes maternal, fetal, and neonatal health. Despite these health benefits, few women are sufficiently active during pregnancy. Increasingly, women are utilising mobile apps to guide their physical activity behaviours during pregnancy, but very little is known about the safety and appropriateness of commercially available apps.

Approximately 12%–16% of women suffer from postpartum depression (PPD) worldwide, and in Australia this figure is 6%–12%. Causes of PPD remain unclear, however, nutrition has been suggested as one modifiable risk factor. This study looks at whether better diet quality during pregnancy can prevent PPD. It also assesses the association between diet and depression during pregnancy, as well as the link between depression during pregnancy and PPD.

Millions of Australian women are vulnerable to weight stigma and discrimination during their reproductive years. This problem exists throughout society, and occurs frequently in everyday life. Weight stigma leads to poorer mental and behavioural health, higher stress, decreased access to and uptake of reproductive healthcare, and poorer health outcomes in pregnancy, birth and longer-term maternal-child health.

Many traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) systems emphasise prevention and wellness rather than illness, and are commonly viewed as ‘natural’ and safer than other available treatments. Australian women in the preconception and pregnancy period may access T&CM products, treatments or services to maintain their health, or to treat an underlying health condition. They are a frequently used but often overlooked feature of the Australian perinatal healthcare landscape.

Gestational weight gain (GWG) outside of recommended ranges increases the risk of pregnancy and neonatal complications. Digital health is a popular and widely used source of health information for pregnant women, and online resources can assist them to maintain their health. This study identifies available digital tools that facilitate GWG tracking and evaluates their quality, behaviour change capacity and ability to highlight the importance of optimising GWG.

Women from some ethnic groups are at greater risk of developing Gestational diabetes (GDM), but recommendations for postpartum engagement in healthy behaviours to mitigate this do not specifically address priority populations. This study synthesises the barriers and enablers of postpartum health behaviours among women from diverse cultural backgrounds with prior GDM, and identifies relevant interventions. 

Preconception care (PCC) involves interventions to optimise parental health prior to pregnancy. Barriers to the delivery of PCC include time, and a lack of resources to assist health care providers. This study conducted an assessment of the quality of existing PCC Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) to assist clinicians to deliver high quality and equitable pre-pregnancy care.

Women of reproductive age are at an increased risk of obesity due to pregnancy-related weight gain, which has adverse consequences for both mother and child. This study describes the barriers and facilitators to a healthy lifestyle in the first two years postpartum, from the perspective of women and healthcare providers.

Workplaces have the capacity to reach large numbers of women during the preconception and pregnancy life phases. This study explores the barriers and enablers to healthy lifestyle behaviours and wellbeing of working women during these periods, and potential workplace interventions.

This study aimed to determine whether metabolic syndrome, a clustering of cardiovascular risk factors, in pregnancy associates with child telomere length, anthropometry, and blood pressure at 10 years of age.

Women are a vulnerable population for weight gain, with increased barriers to healthy lifestyle behaviours during preconception, pregnancy and postpartum and require specific, high-quality healthcare support for weight management.

The health, behaviours and circumstances people live in before becoming pregnant (preconception health) impact the lifelong health of women and men and that of any children they may have. To improve people’s preconception health and reduce inequalities, we need to plan and advocate for programmes and services that meet people’s needs.