Maternal Obesity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Maternal Obesity - Essay Example Maternal obesity is a significant concern for the society since it poses a lot of health threats not only for the mother, but also for the conceived child. Indeed, Galtier-Dereure, Boegner, & Bringer (2000) found that children born to obese mothers were 35% more likely to be admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit due to complications of care. The obese mother is also at an increased risk for hypertension and diabetes. In addition to these, the CDC (2010) also noted severe health consequences to the mother (i.e. preeclampsia, caesarean delivery, etc.) and the newborn (i.e. macrosomia, neural tube defects, etc.). Given these dangers of maternal obesity, there is then a need to increase the awareness of mothers regarding the hazards posed by it, and what can be done as means of prevention and treatment. By utilizing the Health Belief Model (HBM), obese mothers can be motivated to change their diets and lifestyle to decrease the harmful effects of obesity. By using this model, the healthcare provider will provide health education and information dissemination to obese mothers, and they will then monitor the impact of these interventions. The rest of this paper will then explore the means of evaluating the success of such interventions. Essential Elements of Evaluation Process/Model One component of the intended intervention for maternal obesity involves assessment: the identification of the mothers in need of treatment obesity. With this intervention, a significant element of the evaluation process is assessment itself, as well as the establishment of an actual need for the interventions within the community. This element (assessment) is justified by the fact that without assessment, the nurse would never know who needs help, and the patients themselves may never become aware of the need to watch their weight before, during and after pregnancy (Kozier, et al. 2008). In addition, assessment would allow the nurse to develop programs that can cater to the indivi dual needs of the different members of the community. More importantly, assessment of the need for treatment will provide for opportunities for establishing patient goals and reasonable expectations (Foster, Wadden, Vogt, & Brewer, 1997). Another major component of the intervention for maternal obesity involves information dissemination of nutritional information, of the health risks of maternal obesity, and of the benefits gained from maintaining a healthy weight and diet. Therefore, in relation, an essential element of the evaluation process involves the degree by which the given information is understood and impacts the intended population of obese mothers. This element is essential for the whole intervention because in knowing the degree of impact of the disseminated information through evaluation, the nurse is assured of the mother’s compliance. Indeed, according to the HBM, if the mother understands the risks of the unhealthy behavior or condition, then change in health behavior can be better facilitated (National Cancer Institute, 2005). Additionally, another part of the intended interventions is the submission of a proposal to authorities and organizations for appropriate funding and possible policy changes. Thus, in relation to this, another element of evaluation is collaboration. Indeed,