First effective mHealth nutrition and lifestyle coaching program for subfertile couples undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment

Objective: To study compliance and effectiveness of the mHealth nutrition and lifestyle coaching program Smarter Pregnancy in couples undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment with or without intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Design: Multicenter, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial, conducted from July 2014 to March 2017. Setting: IVF clinics. Patient(s): A total of 626 women undergoing IVF treatment with or without ICSI and 222 male partners. Interventions(s): Couples were randomly assigned to the light (control group) or regular (intervention group) Smarter Pregnancy program. Both groups filled out a baseline screening questionnaire on nutrition and lifestyle behaviors, and the intervention group received coaching tailored to inadequate behaviors during the 24-week period. Main Outcome Measure(s): Difference in improvement of a composite dietary and lifestyle risk score for the intake of vegetables, fruits, folic acid supplements, smoking, and alcohol use after 24 weeks of the program. Result(s): Compared with control subjects, women and men in the intervention group showed a significantly larger improvement of inadequate nutrition behaviors after 24 weeks of coaching. At the same time, the women also showed a significantly larger improvement of inadequate lifestyle behaviors. Conclusion(s): The mHealth coaching program Smarter Pregnancy is effective and improves the most important nutritional and lifestyle behaviors among couples undergoing IVF/ICSI treatment. International multicenter randomized trials are recommended to study the effect of using Smarter Pregnancy on pregnancy, live birth, and neonatal outcome. Netherlands Trial Register Number: NTR4150

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