Health in Preconception, Pregnancy and Postpartum Global Alliance: International Network Preconception Research Priorities for the Prevention of Maternal Obesity and Related Pregnancy and Long-Term Complications
by
Briony Hill 1,†, Helen Skouteris 1,2,†, Helena J Teede 1,3,4, Cate Bailey 1, Jo-Anna B Baxter 5,6, Heidi J Bergmeier 1, Ana Luiza Vilela Borges 7, Cheryce L Harrison 1, Brian Jack 8, Laura Jorgensen 9, Siew Lim 1, Cynthia Montanaro 10, Leanne Redman 11, Eric Steegers 12, Judith Stephenson 13, Hildrun Sundseth 14, Shakila Thangaratinam 9, Ruth Walker 1 and Jacqueline A Boyle 1,3,4,*
Briony Hill 1,†, Helen Skouteris 1,2,†, Helena J Teede 1,3,4, Cate Bailey 1, Jo-Anna B Baxter 5,6, Heidi J Bergmeier 1, Ana Luiza Vilela Borges 7, Cheryce L Harrison 1, Brian Jack 8, Laura Jorgensen 9, Siew Lim 1, Cynthia Montanaro 10, Leanne Redman 11, Eric Steegers 12, Judith Stephenson 13, Hildrun Sundseth 14, Shakila Thangaratinam 9, Ruth Walker 1 and Jacqueline A Boyle 1,3,4,*
1
Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Level 1, 43-51 Kanooka Grove, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia
2
Warwick Business School, Warwick University, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
3
Monash Partners Advanced Health Research Translation Centre, Locked Bag 29, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia
4
Monash Health, Melbourne, 246 Clayton Road, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia
5
Centre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
6
Department of Nutritional Sciences, Medical Sciences Building, University of Toronto, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
7
Public Health Nursing Department, University of Sao Paulo, 419 Cerqueira Cesar, Sao Paulo 05403000, Brazil
8
Department of Family Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, 771 Albany St, Boston, MA 02118, USA
9
Barts Research Centre for Women’s Health (BARC), Women’s Health Research Unit, Centre for Primary Care and Public Health, Blizard Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, 58 Turner Street, London E1 2AB, UK
10
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, 160 Chancellors Way, Guelph, ON N1G 0E1, Canada
11
Reproductive Endocrinology and Women’s Health Laboratory, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, 6400 Perkins Rd, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA
12
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Erasmus Medical Centre—Sophia Children’s Hospital, Wytemaweg 80, 3015 CN Rotterdam, The Netherlands
13
Institute of Women’s Health, University College London, EGA Institute for Women’s Health, 74 Huntley St, London WC1E 6AU, UK
14
European Institute of Women’s Health, 33 Pearse Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Joint first authors.
J. Clin. Med. 2019, 8(12), 2119; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm8122119
Received: 8 November 2019 / Revised: 28 November 2019 / Accepted: 29 November 2019 / Published: 2 December 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health in Preconception Pregnancy and Postpartum)
The preconception period is a key public health and clinical opportunity for obesity prevention. This paper describes the development of international preconception priorities to guide research and translation activities for maternal obesity prevention and improve clinical pregnancy outcomes. Stakeholders of international standing in preconception and pregnancy health formed the multidisciplinary Health in Preconception, Pregnancy, and Postpartum (HiPPP) Global Alliance. The Alliance undertook a priority setting process including three rounds of priority ranking and facilitated group discussion using Modified Delphi and Nominal Group Techniques to determine key research areas. Initial priority areas were based on a systematic review of international and national clinical practice guidelines, World Health Organization recommendations on preconception and pregnancy care, and consumer and expert input from HiPPP members. Five preconception research priorities and four overarching principles were identified. The priorities were: healthy diet and nutrition; weight management; physical activity; planned pregnancy; and physical, mental and psychosocial health. The principles were: operating in the context of broader preconception/antenatal priorities; social determinants; family health; and cultural considerations. These priorities provide a road map to progress research and translation activities in preconception health with future efforts required to advance evidence-translation and implementation to impact clinical outcomes.
Keywords:
preconception care; obesity prevention; lifestyle behaviours; consensus; research priorities
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Hill, B.; Skouteris, H.; Teede, H.J.; Bailey, C.; Baxter, J.-A.; Bergmeier, H.J.; Borges, A.L.V.; Harrison, C.L.; Jack, B.; Jorgensen, L.; Lim, S.; Montanaro, C.; Redman, L.; Steegers, E.; Stephenson, J.; Sundseth, H.; Thangaratinam, S.; Walker, R.; Boyle, J.A. Health in Preconception, Pregnancy and Postpartum Global Alliance: International Network Preconception Research Priorities for the Prevention of Maternal Obesity and Related Pregnancy and Long-Term Complications. J. Clin. Med. 2019, 8, 2119.
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