Page 143 - Pro-active Management of Women’s Health after Cardiometabolic Complicated Pregnancies

3.4 Motivators and barriers to a healthy postpartum lifestyle| 141
INTRODUCTION
Cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus type II continue to be major causes of mortality and morbidity. Women who have experienced pregnancy complications like preeclampsia, intrauterine growth restriction and/or gestational diabetes are not only at an increased risk for recurrence of these complications in a subsequent pregnancy250-252, but they share an increased risk to develop cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus type II later in life2 3 10 26. Furthermore, maternal placental syndromes, such as preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction more often occur in women with metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus2 3.
Risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus type II, such as dyslipidemia, hypertension and obesity, are significantly related to lifestyle behaviors59 235 253. Lifestyle interventions have proven to be effective in reducing these risk factors for cardiovascular disease253 and diabetes mellitus type II58 254. For example, improving poor nutrition, smoking cessation, and increasing physical activity can delay or prevent the onset of diabetes mellitus type II3 255.
Guidelines recommend lifestyle measures to reduce cardiovascular risk256. More specifically, current literature suggests adoption of a healthy postpartum lifestyle to ameliorate cardiovascular and metabolic risk in women who have experienced these pregnancy complications83. However, it remains unclear how postpartum lifestyle can best be promoted in this women. In order to understand how a healthy postpartum lifestyle can best be promoted, women’s perceptions of modifiable determinants of postpartum lifestyle need to be explored. Therefore, focus group interviews were held to describe motivators and barriers to the adoption of a healthy postpartum lifestyle.