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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Kiya Hurley, Dr Heather BrownORCiD, Dr Steph ScottORCiD, Dr Zainab AkhterORCiD, Dr Ella Dyer, Dr Gina NguyenORCiD, Christine Moller-Christensen, Dr Kerry Brennan-ToveyORCiD, Professor Judith RankinORCiD, Professor Nicola HeslehurstORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2025 Hurley et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Introduction: There are several known risks relating to poor nutrition during pregnancy, including the development of complications and poor birth outcomes. While food insecurity is associated with poorer nutrition, data on the prevalence and severity of food insecurity in pregnancy in the UK is lacking. This study aims to explore the prevalence, experiences and health impact of food insecurity in pregnancy in England to develop strategic recommendations for intervention strategies. Methods and analysis: Food, Pregnancy & Me is an observational, multi-method study. Questionnaires exploring diet quality, food security, mental health, and other health behaviours will be distributed to all women and pregnant people in their third trimester in two NHS Trusts in England (North East and West Midlands). Returned questionnaires (n=605) will be linked to routine maternal and birth outcome data and pseudo-anonymised. We will estimate the prevalence of food insecurity in pregnancy in these locations, associations with diet quality, maternal mental health, and pregnancy outcomes (e.g., pre-term birth, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes). Qualitative interviews (n=40) with participants identified as having experienced food insecurity will explore their lived experience, support received, and recommendations for additional support needs. Through a series of co-production workshops with local and national system shapers and experts by lived experience, we will use the data gathered to produce strategic recommendations for intervention with pregnant women and people facing food insecurity. We will then explore the potential costs and benefits of implementing the proposed recommendations. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval was obtained from Newcastle and North Tyneside 1 NHS Research Ethics Committee (24/NE/0027). Findings will be disseminated to key national and local system shapers and policy makers, advocacy groups, and the public through reports, presentations, the media and open access publications.
Author(s): Hurley KL, Jolly K, Brown H, Scott S, Akhter Z, Dyer E, Nguyen G, Lake AA, Moller-Christensen C, Flint N, Baker A, Brennan-Tovey K, Dickie S, Gibson E, Jackson C, Loopstra R, Nagra H, Rankin J, Williams D, Wiseman A, Heslehurst N
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: PLoS ONE
Year: 2025
Volume: 20
Issue: 5
Online publication date: 07/05/2025
Acceptance date: 03/03/2025
Date deposited: 20/05/2025
ISSN (electronic): 1932-6203
Publisher: Public Library of Science
URL: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321638
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0321638
Data Access Statement: No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.
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