Researchers: Shiran Bord¹, Carmit Satran¹, Batya Madjar²

Background: Promoting a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy has great importance as maternal behaviors affect both maternal and fetal health. The Israeli healthcare basket entitles women to regular prenatal care visits either at Tipat Halav stations or at health fund clinics. Assessment of the differences in health-promoting behaviors among pregnant and postpartum women, between these settings has not been tested.

Objectives: To examine the differences in women's health-promoting behaviors as a function of the prenatal care visit setting.

Method: A cross-sectional study conducted among 850 women up to 9 months postpartum, who filled a self-reported questionnaire during their routine visit at Tipat Halav with their babies.

Findings: About one-third of the participants (274 women, 32.2%) attended their prenatal care visits at Tipat Halav stations, and 576 women (67.8%) attended their prenatal care visits at other health settings. Younger, Arab, traditional/religious women with a lower education level and an average or lower than average income, were more likely to attend Tipat Halav stations for their prenatal care visits. Pregnancy surveillance at Tipat Halav was not directly predictive of health-promoting behaviors or health risk behaviors during pregnancy and postpartum but was associated with obtaining pregnancy-related information and with more positive attitudes toward health-promoting behaviors during pregnancy. The women's attitudes and the extent of information they received during pregnancy, were predictors of women's health-promoting behaviors during pregnancy and postpartum.

Conclusions: Health-promoting attitudes and obtaining information concerning health behaviors are of great importance in promoting women's health.

Recommendations: Health professionals, who come in contact with pregnant women, should put an emphasis on the provision of information in the areas of health-promoting behaviors, even when these behaviors are not directly related to the clinical checkups.

Research end date: 02/2019