Results
We obtained data from 842 pregnant and 777 postpartum women. Mean age was 32 (SD 4) years, mean self-reported prepregnancy BMI was 25 (SD 5) kg/m², and most participants were highly educated (1214/1619, 75.0%). Pregnant and postpartum women valued healthy nutrition (mean 8.5, SD 1.2 on a 10-point scale). Pregnant women rated their food enjoyment and diet quality lowest during the first trimester, with scores of 6.3 (SD 2.5) and 6.3 (SD 1.9) out of 10, respectively. Compared with pregnant women, postpartum women had less phase-specific nutritional knowledge (354/745, 47.5% vs 533/820, 65.0%), less time for food preparation (365/726, 50.3% vs 618/803, 77.0%), and less time for eating (524/721, 72.7% vs 773/799, 96.7%), but were more eager to learn about phase-specific healthy food choices (313/745, 42.0% vs 234/820, 28.5%) and felt more capable of food preparation (mean 7.3 SD 2.2 vs mean 6.9, SD 2.2). During pregnancy, the main reason for eating was the child's health, while in postpartum, the main reason was hunger. Key sources of nutrition information were websites (1337/1565, 85.4%), health care professionals (805/1565, 51.4%), and apps (665/1565, 42.5%). Phase-specific app use dropped from 90.8% (713/785) during pregnancy to 58.9% (418/710) postpartum, with many women being unaware of the existence of postpartum apps. Important factors to consider for app use included credibility, ease of use, and free access.
