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Published on: January 12, 2018
A qualitative study of pregnant teenagers' perceptions of the acceptability of a nutritional education intervention
Andrew G Symon1, Wendy L Wrieden
1School of Nursing & Midwifery, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 9SY, UK. a.g.symon@snm.dundee.ac.uk
Objective:
in order to assess the feasibility of nutritional education intervention sessions for pregnant teenagers, standard dietary assessment schedules were supplemented by a qualitative appraisal. Reported in this paper are the perceptions of pregnant teenagers who attended one or more of these sessions.
Design:
qualitative study using a phenomenological approach. Data were collected using semi-structured tape-recorded group interviews.
Setting:
two community centres and one maternity unit in Tayside, Scotland.
Participants:
ten pregnant teenagers aged 16-18 years.
Interventions:
all had attended one or more of a series of food preparation sessions led by a midwife. Food to take away was provided, as were supermarket vouchers.
Findings:
those who attended found the sessions to be social, educational, and practical. These young women appreciated being in a group which did not include 'older' pregnant women. To a limited extent they had changed their dietary habits at home. Food to take home was a significant attraction. Some of the teenagers sought maternity-related information from the midwife leading the session.
Key Conclusions:
nutritional education remains an important public health issue. Despite offering a range of incentives, attracting teenagers to these sessions was difficult, making their economic feasibility questionable.
Implications For Practice:
with better recruitment, such sessions could form an important part of improving nutrition and overall health for current and future generations.
