The Health Promotion Agency (HPA) is the New Zealand Government agency responsible for rolling out a number of health related initiatives. In the long-term they need to reduce the number of obese children in New Zealand, in the short term they need to facilitate action towards change – by developing communications that create awareness and action as well as providing helpful tools to enable change. Particularly to those who are most at risk. For this brief specifically, HPA’s role was to promote healthy weight gain during pregnancy and to support health practitioners by providing them with resources and information.
Gestational diabetes is more likely to occur in women who are overweight, or gain too much weight during their pregnancy.
Gestational diabetes affects the baby – whereas for the adult, GD may disappear after birth. Babies born to mothers with GD are more likely to be overweight and obese children and adults. GD mothers are more likely to have diabetes later in life.
The client wanted to provide Lead Maternity Carers (LMC’s) and Green Prescription Advisors with consumer-friendly, printed resources to give to patients who are at risk of gestational diabetes.
We want pregnant women to feel good about themselves, by achieving a healthy weight during pregnancy. What’s good for Mum is good for baby too.
Objectives
- We want women to be active while they are pregnant
- We want women to understand which foods are best to eat during pregnancy
- Overall we want to increase literacy around both diet and activity
With assistance from Art Director Arizona Doolan, we created two booklets that targeted healthy eating, and healthy exercise during pregnancy.
