# A pragmatic, scalable e-health intervention for management of gestational weight gain in low-income mothers

> **NIH NIH R01** · LSU PENNINGTON BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CTR · 2021 · $604,284

## Abstract

Project Summary
Pregnancy is critical nutritional time point that influences the immediate and long-term health of both the mother and
child. While the health and nutritional status of women (eg. obesity, smoking etc.) prior to pregnancy is arguably the
most important for long-term health outcomes, the nutritional status of women during pregnancy including gestational
weight gain, influences birth outcomes, health, and long-term risk for chronic disease. More than one in eight women in
the U.S. lived in poverty in 2015 and women with low incomes are the most vulnerable to poor nutrition, maternal
obesity, excess weight gain in pregnancy and poor birth outcomes. Lifestyle interventions during pregnancy positioned
to reduce excess gestational weight gain may reduce risk factors for chronic disease in women and obesity in children.
To impact the health of the most vulnerable pregnant women, infants and children in the U.S., there is a critical need for
scalable and effective healthcare services targeting under-served, minority women through community-based programs.
The USDA Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) – a National program – is
highly suited to deliver scalable and effective lifestyle interventions in low income and nutritionally at risk pregnant
women. However, there is a dearth of clinical trials testing efficacious, well-designed, culturally relevant and
appropriately powered interventions aimed to promote healthy weight gain in pregnant women with low incomes. In
response to the National Institutes of Health funding opportunity (PA-18-135); Maternal nutrition and pre-pregnancy
obesity: effects on mothers, infants and children, the overarching goal of this research is to develop and test the
effectiveness of SmartMoms® a patient-centered, pragmatic and scalable weight management program previously
shown to foster healthy gestational weight gain and to increase the proportion of pregnant women who achieve
appropriate gestational weight gain. This research will be conducted in two phases; Acculturation of SmartMoms (Aim
1), and a state-wide, randomized controlled trial in 432 pregnant women enrolled in the Louisiana Women’s, Infants and
Children (WIC) program (Aim 2). The primary hypothesis is that compared to WIC participants receiving usual care,
participants receiving SmartMoms a smartphone based, high-intensity, health literacy-appropriate and culturally
adapted lifestyle intervention promoting healthy gestational weight gain will have greater adherence to the 2009 IOM
gestational weight gain guidelines and significant improvements in physiological and behavioral factors.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10078872
- **Project number:** 5R01NR017644-03
- **Recipient organization:** LSU PENNINGTON BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** Leanne Maree Redman
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $604,284
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-12-18 → 2023-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10078872

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10078872, A pragmatic, scalable e-health intervention for management of gestational weight gain in low-income mothers (5R01NR017644-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10078872. Licensed CC0.

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