2 June 2011:

Raising awareness of simple lifestyle measures that help women manage and curb excess weight gain during pregnancy may be a key to avoiding complications such as gestational diabetes.

Research by Dr Cheryce Harrison, a Research Fellow at the Jean Hailes Foundation for Women’s Health in Melbourne, has found it is important that women who are overweight or obese are given clear messages about the benefits of a healthy diet, regular physical activity and monitoring weight gain during pregnancy.

At the age of 26, Dr Harrison’s research has won her a prestigious international award – the Women in Endocrinology Young Investigator Award – that she will receive at ENDO 2011, an annual event organized by the US Endocrine Society.

The conference, to be held in Boston early this month, showcases the best and latest endocrine science and is attended by more than 7,000 researchers and practitioners.

Dr Harrison’s award-winning research found that when women are given simple information about eating a healthy diet, staying physically active, weighing themselves regularly and are given information about how much weight they should put on during pregnancy, they manage their weight more effectively in early pregnancy.

A healthier lifestyle and controlled weight gain is likely to have several benefits during pregnancy, including improved mood and emotional wellbeing and reduced risk of complications such as gestational diabetes and a difficult delivery.

“With the increasing rates of obesity in Australia at the moment, a lot of women are entering pregnancy overweight or obese,” says Dr Harrison.

“Often women feel unsure about how much weight they should gain in pregnancy and at what rate. Combined with common misconceptions, such as ‘eating for two’, a lot of women end up gaining too much weight during pregnancy. This puts them at risk of coming out of pregnancy heavier than when they entered pregnancy, and increases the risk of long-term obesity development, especially if women have more than one child.

Women in the study who were overweight and at risk of developing diabetes in pregnancy attended a simple lifestyle program from early pregnancy.
Women placed in the intervention group were given four sessions during which researchers provided messages encouraging them to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

“We gave them simple but clear messages about how much weight they should aim to put on, about weighing themselves regularly, removing barriers and we gave them lifestyle messages about walking regularly, eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and reducing fattening foods,” explains Dr Harrison.

“We also aimed to correct common misconceptions that women may face, such as the need to consume full fat dairy products and the misconception that regular moderate physical activity during pregnancy is harmful – both common pregnancy myths.

“The study showed that women who received the extra support and lifestyle advice had reduced weight gain compared to the women who received standard maternal care only.”

At 28 weeks pregnant, women who received the extra information to help them manage weight gain put on 900 grams less than women receiving standard antenatal care.

“Small changes impact on long term health. If we can prevent early pregnancy weight gain by a small amount, like 900 grams, it is likely that we can impact on the amount of weight gained during the rest of pregnancy. Also, all the healthy lifestyle messages women receive during pregnancy can be used post-pregnancy for the long term health of themselves and their family,” says Dr Harrison.

“The key message here is about introducing small but sustainable lifestyle changes throughout pregnancy to improve women’s health and reduce their risk of gaining too much weight.”

As well as receiving her award at the conference, Dr Harrison will present a poster on her research. It is an opportunity to showcase her research to delegates.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to highlight the importance of my early career research and the work of the Jean Hailes Foundation for Women’s Health, and to work towards building international collaborations with researchers around the world,” says Dr Harrison.

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To interview Dr Harrison, contact
Aleeza Zohar, Communications Manager
on (03) 9562 6771 or 0425 758 729, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it