Mindful eating during pregnancy: a comparative study according to prenatal care

Abstract

Changes in the global lifestyle have led to dysfunctional eating behaviors during pregnancy. In this sense, the Mindful Eating approach is a practice with the potential to positively influence eating habits, with a beneficial impact on the health of pregnant women. To evaluate the levels of Mindful Eating of women before and during pregnancy and to associate them with the type of prenatal care (Unified Health System or Private Sector), a cross-sectional study was conducted with 184 pregnant women aged ≥18 years, accompanied by the Unified Health System (SUS) or the Private Sector in the municipality of Lavras-MG, Brazil. Socioeconomic and obstetric data were collected, and information on Mindful Eating was obtained through the self-administered Mindful Eating Questionnaire. Mindful Eating was higher during pregnancy than during the pre-gestational period. Pregnant women assisted by SUS showed lower Mindful Eating compared with women in the private sector. Those attended by SUS obtained higher values during the gestational period in the Emotional subscale. Pregnant women who attended in the private sector obtained higher values during the gestational period in the Awareness, Distraction and Disinhibition subscales. During pregnancy, women presented higher levels of Mindful Eating, indicating an improvement in eating behavior. The Mindful Eating score of women attended in prenatal care by the Private Sector was higher than that of women attended by SUS, requiring individualized intervention in each sector to cover the socioeconomic factors inherent to each group and their influence on the improvement of eating behaviors.

Keywords

• mindfulness
• pregnancy
• prenatal nutrition
• health systems