Page 125 - Pro-active Management of Women’s Health after Cardiometabolic Complicated Pregnancies

3.3 Preferences for postpartum lifestyle counseling| 123
INTRODUCTION
Epidemiological data indicate that an obstetric history of preeclampsia, intrauterine growth restriction and/ or gestational diabetes is associated with a significantly increased risk for remote cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease, and cerebrovascular accidents230. Women who have experienced these pregnancy complications share cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors, such as abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, atherogenic dyslipidemia, and elevated blood pressure51.
It is suggested that lifestyle-related risk factors should primarily be targeted to reduce cardiovascular and metabolic risk in women who have experienced these pregnancy complications51. Research in other high-risk groups has shown that lifestyle interventions have been effective in lowering risk factors for cardiovascular disease231-234 and diabetes mellitus type II58 59. Potentially modifiable lifestyle-related risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease are consumption of saturated fat, fruit, vegetables, and alcohol, physical activity, smoking, and psychosocial factors235.
Currently, in the health care setting, tailored interventions (such as face- to-face counseling) are widely applied. Such interventions are intended to reach one specific person, are based on characteristics that are unique to that person, are related to the outcome of interest, and have been derived from an individual assessment236 237.
However, in the last decades, potentially important new channels for health communication have emerged, such as computers and the Internet238. Computer-tailored lifestyle counseling (e.g., computer-tailored nutrition education) can provide people with both individualized feedback and advice on