TY - JOUR
T1 - Food, Pregnancy & Me
T2 - Exploring food insecurity in pregnancy in the UK to inform future public health intervention needs–A mixed-methods study protocol
AU - Hurley, Kiya L.
AU - Jolly, Kate
AU - Brown, Heather
AU - Scott, Steph
AU - Akhter, Zainab
AU - Dyer, Eleanor
AU - Nguyen, Giang
AU - Lake, Amelia A.
AU - Möller-Christensen, Christine
AU - Flint, Nicola
AU - Baker, Angela
AU - Brennan-Tovey, Kerry
AU - Dickie, Sonya
AU - Gibson, Emma
AU - Jackson, Catherine
AU - Loopstra, Rachel
AU - Nagra, Harbir
AU - Rankin, Judith
AU - Williams, Dianne
AU - Wiseman, Alice
AU - Heslehurst, Nicola
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Hurley et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2025/5/7
Y1 - 2025/5/7
N2 - Introduction There are several known risks relating to poor nutrition during pregnancy, including the development of complications and poor birth outcomes. While food insecurity is associated with poorer nutrition, data on the prevalence and severity of food insecurity in pregnancy in the UK is lacking. This study aims to explore the prevalence, experiences and health impact of food insecurity in pregnancy in England to develop strategic recommendations for intervention strategies. Methods and analysis Food, Pregnancy & Me is an observational, multi-method study. Questionnaires exploring diet quality, food security, mental health, and other health behaviours will be distributed to all women and pregnant people in their third trimester in two NHS Trusts in England (North East and West Midlands). Returned questionnaires (n=605) will be linked to routine maternal and birth outcome data and pseudo-anonymised. We will estimate the prevalence of food insecurity in pregnancy in these locations, associations with diet quality, maternal mental health, and pregnancy outcomes (e.g., pre-term birth, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes). Qualitative interviews (n=40) with participants identified as having experienced food insecurity will explore their lived experience, support received, and recommendations for additional support needs. Through a series of co-production workshops with local and national system shapers and experts by lived experience, we will use the data gathered to produce strategic recommendations for intervention with pregnant women and people facing food insecurity. We will then explore the potential costs and benefits of implementing the proposed recommendations. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval was obtained from Newcastle and North Tyneside 1 NHS Research Ethics Committee (24/NE/0027). Findings will be disseminated to key national and local system shapers and policy makers, advocacy groups, and the public through reports, presentations, the media and open access publications.
AB - Introduction There are several known risks relating to poor nutrition during pregnancy, including the development of complications and poor birth outcomes. While food insecurity is associated with poorer nutrition, data on the prevalence and severity of food insecurity in pregnancy in the UK is lacking. This study aims to explore the prevalence, experiences and health impact of food insecurity in pregnancy in England to develop strategic recommendations for intervention strategies. Methods and analysis Food, Pregnancy & Me is an observational, multi-method study. Questionnaires exploring diet quality, food security, mental health, and other health behaviours will be distributed to all women and pregnant people in their third trimester in two NHS Trusts in England (North East and West Midlands). Returned questionnaires (n=605) will be linked to routine maternal and birth outcome data and pseudo-anonymised. We will estimate the prevalence of food insecurity in pregnancy in these locations, associations with diet quality, maternal mental health, and pregnancy outcomes (e.g., pre-term birth, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes). Qualitative interviews (n=40) with participants identified as having experienced food insecurity will explore their lived experience, support received, and recommendations for additional support needs. Through a series of co-production workshops with local and national system shapers and experts by lived experience, we will use the data gathered to produce strategic recommendations for intervention with pregnant women and people facing food insecurity. We will then explore the potential costs and benefits of implementing the proposed recommendations. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval was obtained from Newcastle and North Tyneside 1 NHS Research Ethics Committee (24/NE/0027). Findings will be disseminated to key national and local system shapers and policy makers, advocacy groups, and the public through reports, presentations, the media and open access publications.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105004477489
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0321638
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0321638
M3 - Article
C2 - 40334223
AN - SCOPUS:105004477489
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 20
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 5
M1 - e0321638
ER -