Most mums-to-be don't follow health advice
20 February 2009
If more of us stopped smoking and drank less alcohol, it would be much easier for women to make these healthy choices before and during their pregnancy. These health messages should be taught from a young age, as it's harder to make lifestyle choices later on. 
Professor Hazel Inskip, Professor of Statistical Epidemiology, University of Southampton
Many women planning a pregnancy don't follow healthy lifestyle recommendations before they're pregnant, according to a recent study.
Diet and lifestyle advice for pregnant women is widely available, but little is known about whether women trying to conceive follow this advice.
Researchers from the University of Southampton investigated how well diet and lifestyle advice is followed by young women. To do this, they interviewed 12,400 women from the Southampton Women's Survey, a health survey of women aged 20 to 34. All the women were interviewed about their diet, physical activity, folic acid intake, smoking habits and alcohol intake. None were pregnant at the time of the survey.
The researchers contacted the women again after three months. They compared the responses of those who had become pregnant (238 in total) with those who had not. They found that many of the women didn't stick to healthy diet and lifestyle advice. The pregnant women were only slightly more likely to do so.
Only around three in 100 of the pregnant women were following recommendations - this was one in 100 for the women who hadn't become pregnant.
Smoking rates were lower in the women who had become pregnant. One in four of the pregnant women reported that they smoked compared to nearly a third of the non-pregnant women. Only half of the women from both groups reported eating the advised five portions of fruit and vegetables each day.
However, a higher proportion of women followed diet and lifestyle advice once they became pregnant, showing that behaviour can change.
Study leader Professor Hazel Inskip told the health information team: "These results aren't surprising. We don't know how many women in the study were actually trying to get pregnant when we saw them, and many pregnancies are unplanned.
"Even for planned pregnancies, trying for a baby is a bit like preparing for an exam when you don't know the date - you don't know exactly when you will conceive. Many women choose not to tell family and friends they are trying for a baby because of the added pressure. If you normally drink alcohol, it's hard to give up early on without letting your friends know you're trying for a baby," she added.
Professor Inskip emphasises that this is an issue for our society as a whole, not only for young women.
"If more of us stopped smoking and drank less alcohol, it would be much easier for women to make these healthy choices before and during their pregnancy. These health messages should be taught from a young age, as it's harder to make lifestyle choices later on."
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If you're trying for a baby, the Food Standards Agency recommends that you:
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Related information
- Common pregnancy symptoms - health factsheet
- Preparing for pregnancy - health factsheet
- Routine care during pregnancy - health factsheet
- What to expect during pregnancy - health factsheet
- Trying for a baby. Food Standards Agency, accessed 13 February 2009
- Southampton Women's Survey
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