An exciting trial running in Newcastle over the next two years offering women a pre-conception review and the opportunity to enter a weight loss program to optimise their health prior to pregnancy. This study is called “The PreBabe Study: Can a pre-conception weight loss program improve maternal and infant outcomes for women with overweight or obesity? A randomised controlled trial.”

This trial is being run across five hospitals in the Sydney and Newcastle region. The closest site for women in the Hunter region is the Hunter Medical Research Institute at the John Hunter Hospital. Principal Investigator at HMRI Professor Craig Pennell University of Newcastle and John Hunter Hospital.

Why is the research being done?

As many as 1 in 2 women are above a healthy weight range when trying for a baby and 1 in 7 couple have trouble falling pregnant. PreBabe is a world-first clinic trial exploring how losing weight prior to pregnancy can improve the long-term health of mothers and babies.

Who can participate in the research study/trial?

We are recruiting participants between the ages of 18-40years with a BMI >25 who are planning a pregnancy over the next 6-12 months.

What will study participants be asked to do? What does the study involve?

Women are randomly allocated to one of two weight loss programs:

1) Combination of meal replacements and conventional healthy meals supported by a trial website or

2) Conventional healthy meals supported by telephone coaching calls

Both programs run for a 10-week period, prior to when a woman starts trying to get pregnant, with a 12 month follow up schedule where we record the time to conception, pregnancy, and birth outcomes.
 

Contact Details

Women can visit the PreBabe Website: https://prebabe.com.au/ to hear from previous PreBabe participants. From there women can register their interest on the website and complete an eligibility survey. Local team contact Jaci MacPhail jaci.macphail@newcastle.edu.au