Lavaca

Researchers are evaluating whether providing healthy food during pregnancy can reduce the number of women who experience excessive weight gain compared to enhanced standard care. This large, multi-site randomized controlled trial plans to enroll 1,440 pregnant women aged 16 to 44 years to study this question. The study focuses on prevention of excessive gestational weight gain and related pregnancy complications such as gestational hypertension and diabetes. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. The Enhanced Standard of Care ESoC group receives nutritional and gestational weight gain counseling, assistance enrolling in WIC and SNAP programs, and referrals to food assistance organizations. The Delivering HOPE group receives the same services plus funds during pregnancy to purchase healthy foods, with amounts ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 based on household size. Women will be involved throughout their pregnancy, with data collected from birth records to measure weight before pregnancy and at delivery. The main outcome is the proportion of women with excessive gestational weight gain over approximately 40 weeks. This study includes participants who speak English, Spanish, or Marshallese and have valid email addresses. The research is led by the University of Arkansas and is expected to be completed by the end of 2029.