Lost in translation? English- and Spanish-speaking women’s perceptions of gestational weight gain safety, health risks and counseling

Objective:to determine english- and spanish-speaking women’s perceptions on gestational weight gain (gwg) counseling.study design:we administered a written survey to 279 pregnant women regarding gwg counseling and knowledge. we compared english- and spanish-speaking women’s responses using x2-tests and logistic regression analyses.result:seventy-four (27%) women completed the survey in spanish and 205 (73%) in english. more spanish compared with english speakers did not know if their provider recommended weight gain goals (26% vs 10%, odds ratio (or) 3.2, confidence interval (ci) 1.5 to 6.5); if there are risks to excessive gwg for mother (27% vs 11%, or 3.1, ci 1.5 to 6.4) or infant (38% vs 16%, or 3.3, ci 1.7 to 6.3); or if exercise (15% vs 1%, or 12.1, ci 3.0 to 69.1) or weight loss (35% v 12%, or 4.0, ci 2.0 to 8.0) were safe during pregnancy.conclusion:significant differences exist between spanish- and english-speaking women’s perception of gwg counseling, which may be due to language or cultural barriers.