Broaching overweight and obesity at maternity and child health clinics

The aim was to describe the experiences of nurses in broaching the issue of overweight and obesity at maternity and child health clinics.

The mother's obesity and excessive weight gain during pregnancy and rapid weight gain in early childhood increase the risk of obesity of the newborn baby both in childhood and throughout life. Attention must be paid to the prevention of weight gain in families already during pregnancy and before school age.

Informants were nurses working at maternity and child health clinics (N = 28). The qualitative data were collected by a focus group interview in spring 2016 and analysed using inductive content analysis.

The nurses interviewed considered it their duty to broach the issue and felt that they have sufficient courage to bring up overweight. They sometimes found it frustrating to talk about overweight and obesity, because families do not commit themselves to making lifestyle changes, and changes happen slowly. Nurses found the lasting relationship with families helpful for bringing up overweight.

Nurses need more broaching skills, more training, supervising and tools for bringing up overweight and obesity with client families. The continuity of care in primary health care supports bringing up overweight.