[Effectiveness of mobile technology and weight gain in pregnant women in Callao, Peru]

To evaluate the effectiveness of mobile technology in the appropriate weight gain of pregnant women.

A quasi-experimental study. The sample included 117 pregnant women attending health facilities at la Dirección Regional de Salud (Diresa), Callao. Messages were sent to 58 pregnant women who formed the experimental group to improve their lifestyles and assistance to prenatal care (APC), while 59 pregnant women received routine education provided for pregnants. Messages were sent every three days. The nutritional status of the pregnant women was evaluated using the pre gestational BMI at the first visit of the APC. The weight gain was obtained from the difference between pre-gestational weight and weight recorded during the last controls.

The adequate weight gain was 27.6% of intervened pregnancies and 25.4% in the non-intervened. The 79.3% pregnant had six or more NPC in the group intervened and 54.2% in the non-intervened. The weight gain was excessive in 5.1% in the non-intervened pregnant and 1.7% in the intervened. The highest percentage of pregnant women with adequate weight gain (32.0%) was observed in the intervened pregnancies with pre-gestacional overwhegith.

There was no statistic difference in the use of mobile technology for a proper weight gain between both study groups. There were greater fulfillment of APC in intervened pregnancies compared to the non-intervened (p<0.05).