Introduction

This chapter discusses the risks of and interventions for selected health behaviors during pregnancy and addresses the following questions:

• What are health behavior risks and interventions?

• What does the effectiveness literature about health behavior interventions during pregnancy indicate?

• What gaps in the current literature should be addressed in future research?

• What are the implications of these findings for policy makers, health managers, and health providers?

More specifically, this chapter focuses on the effectiveness of particular interventions in modifying health behaviors within certain sub-populations at increased risk of poor outcomes.

Overview

Summary of behavioral change theories

Behavioral change interventions, either explicitly or implicitly, incorporate a theoretical basis for understanding behavior – why individuals act in a specific manner. The field of behavioral sciences offers those interested in developing effective interventions (e.g., clinicians and policy planners) a clearer understanding of what individuals require in order to change undesirable behaviors or to maintain desirable ones (Fishbein and Guinan, 1996).

Behavioral science theory and research suggests that the most effective interventions are those aimed at a specific behavior (Fishbein and Guinan, 1996). Behaviors have unique determinants, and thus require different interventions for change to occur. Identifying the behavior that one wishes to change may well be the most difficult part of developing an intervention. Many interventions are mistakenly directed at increasing the probability that an individual will reach a specific goal or engage in a category of behaviors, rather than increasing the probability that one will engage in a specific behavior.