ABSTRACT
Objective
Late-night eating during pregnancy is associated with greater risk for gestational
diabetes. The purposes of this study were to describe reasons why women engage in
late-night eating and to understand perceptions about changing this behavior.
Design
Focus groups using a semi-structured interview script.
Setting
Urban university-affiliated obstetric clinic.
Participants
Low-income black women (n = 18) with overweight/obesity at entry to prenatal care.
Phenomenon of Interest
Late-night eating.
Analysis
Exhaustive approach coding responses to specific questions.
Results
Individual and interpersonal contributors to late-night eating included hunger, altered
sleep patterns, fetal movement, and the influence of others. Food choices were largely
driven by taste and convenience. Some women reported that they could alter nightly
eating patterns, whereas others would consider changing only if late-night eating
were associated with a severe illness or disability for the child.
Conclusions and Implications
There was considerable heterogeneity among the participants of this study regarding
reasons for late-night eating during pregnancy and attitudes toward changing this
behavior. Although the themes identified from this study cannot be generalized, they
may be useful to inform future studies. Future research might develop strategies to
overcome individual and social factors that contribute to late-night eating during
pregnancy.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 20, 2018
Accepted:
November 1,
2018
Footnotes
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The authors have not stated any conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
