Digital Lifestyle Interventions to Support Healthy Gestational Weight Gain: Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Digital health interventions
• Maternal and infant health
• Behavior change techniques

Background:

• Digital lifestyle interventions show promise for managing gestational weight gain (GWG).
• Limited clarity exists on effective design and implementation features for these interventions.
• Excessive GWG poses significant maternal and infant health risks, necessitating effective management strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To map the current literature on digital lifestyle interventions for healthy GWG.
• To identify key intervention characteristics, including behavior change techniques (BCTs).
• To analyze patterns in design and implementation features associated with positive outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Systematic search of major databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Science) from 2014-2024.
• Inclusion of studies describing digital components targeting GWG; exclusion of high-risk pregnancies, non-human studies, and gray literature.
• Data extraction on study characteristics, theoretical frameworks, delivery modes, and BCTs, with analysis of features across different outcomes.

Main Results:

• 44 studies were included (23 primary, 21 secondary).
• Interventions achieving positive outcomes often started earlier, lasted longer, and combined digital with in-person components.
• Commonly effective BCTs included goal setting, self-monitoring, and social support; however, reporting gaps were noted.

Conclusions:

• Digital interventions for GWG may be more effective when integrating digital and in-person elements and specific BCTs.
• Key BCTs for positive outcomes involve goal setting, self-monitoring, and social support.
• Significant reporting gaps hinder evidence synthesis, emphasizing the need for standardized reporting and research in underserved populations.