This study aimed to develop an intervention to support weight management of women with overweight during pregnancy and the postpartum period and to evaluate the feasibility of the intervention. The study was conducted in two phases: development and feasibility.

The development phase included two substudies: (1) A mixed method, descriptive study examined perceptions of weight management support among maternity care professionals (n=5) and pregnant women with overweight (n=11). (2) A prospective observational study summarized the feasibility of the Wearable Internet-of-Things-based system to continuously monitor the health parameters among pregnant and postpartum women (n=20). The data collected during the development phase were used to model a weight management intervention and implementation strategies with a cocreation approach. The intervention’s core components were: (1) health technology; (2) motivational interviewing; (3) goal setting; and (4) feedback. The feasibility phase consisted of a quasi-experimental trial to assess the effectiveness of the weight management intervention in terms of improving self-efficacy in eating and physical activity and preventing gestational weight gain among pregnant women with overweight (n=54). Fidelity, acceptability, and adherence to the intervention were also evaluated.

The results showed that the intervention had no effect on a change in self-efficacy or weight gain. However, the importance of recommended gestational weight gain on better postpartum weight management was highlighted. In addition, women with signs of depression or women who had a lower educational level were found to have lower self-efficacy compared to women with no signs of depression or women who had a higher educational level. The inconsistency in adherence to the intervention implementation probably contributed to its lack of effectiveness. This study serves as a starting point for further research, emphasizing the need for more robust research designs and improved implementation strategies to enhance effectiveness.