The Deadly Fit Mums program
Closing the final gaps in maternal and infant health: hoping to show that the Deadly Fit Mums program will help mothers to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy Indigenous baby.
Mothers participating in Deadly Fit Mums (DFM) will be cared for by a team of health professionals assisting with various mother’s health requirements and wishes during and after pregnancy. With this study we are hoping to show that DFM will help mothers to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy Indigenous baby.
Disparities in maternal and infant health (MIH) persist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, despite clear national targets set in the 2008 Closing the Gap Strategy. Women giving birth to an Indigenous baby in metropolitan Brisbane have high rates of overweight/obesity (48%), gestational and pre-existing diabetes (13%), smoking (35%) and psychological distress (38%). These factors are associated with greater risk of adverse birth outcomes and of chronic diseases later in life in mums and offspring. Best practice primary prevention and management strategies perinatally are the promotion of lifestyle modifications that focus on increased physical activity and healthy diet.
The Deadly Fit Mums (DFM) is an Aboriginal community-led program delivered in greater Brisbane. It is an exercise and nutrition education program offered perinatally to women birthing an Indigenous baby through the Birthing into Our Community program. DFM is led by an accredited exercise physiologist and delivered in partnership with a multidisciplinary team of allied health professionals. DFM is tailored to the mums’ and families’ goals, needs and preferences.
Our objectives are to:
- Systematically scale up DFM services across greater Brisbane and measure fidelity of the program.
- Implement a quantitative study to evaluate efficacy of the DFM program by measuring and analysing clinical and behavioural indicators among participants of the program.
- Conduct qualitative research to determine acceptability of DFM programs among participating families and feasibility of implementing DFM among program staff.
We anticipate that participation in the DFM program, will lead to an improvement in modifiable MIH health determinants including healthy diet, physical activity, healthy weight and smoking cessation. This project will identify a best practice model of perinatal care for mums and their families, with a long-term vision to upscale DFM nationally.
MRFF Maternal Health and Healthy Lifestyles
Jan 2023 – December 2026