Promoting Health in Pregnancy and Postpartum

During pregnancy, participants complete one face-to-face counseling session, receive 10 behavioral podcasts, and receive weekly phone calls until delivery. Participants will be asked to attend one group session on breastfeeding. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in a private Facebook group during pregnancy and postpartum. During postpartum, participants complete one face-to-face counseling session, receive 16 behavioral podcasts, receive brief weekly check-in telephone calls for six weeks, and receive up to 8 telephone counseling calls through 6 months after delivery.

Women will receive standard nutrition counseling provided by physicians, nurses, nutritionists, and counselors from the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program (if applicable). They will receive a monthly study mailing that is educational in nature as well as podcasts related to a healthy pregnancy. During pregnancy, the mailings will focus on tips for a healthy pregnancy and on fetal development. During postpartum the mailings will focus on infant development and parenting. We will select a matched number of podcasts from Pea in the Podcast, commercially available podcasts. All mailings and podcasts will avoid discussion of weight, PA, or diet (except for foods to avoid in pregnancy for safety reasons).