Nutrition and community food support for postpartum recovery after gestational diabetes

Nutrition Optimization and Community Upliftment for Postpartum Recovery: Interventions to Support Healing After Gestational Diabetes

This project will test whether a culturally tailored medically provided meal program that lets new mothers switch from prepared to fresh meals helps Black women with obesity who had gestational diabetes manage their weight and diet after childbirth.

Quick facts

• Phase: Not applicable
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 40 (estimated)
• Ages: 18 Years and up
• Sex: Female
• Sponsor: Johns Hopkins University (Academic / other)
• Locations: 1 site (Baltimore, Maryland)
• Trial ID: NCT06445530 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

This randomized pilot compares an enhanced medically tailored food program (MFeast ENHANCED) that begins with prepared meals and can shift to fresh food delivery, includes dietitian-led nutrition coaching and lactation snack bundles, versus usual prepared medically tailored meals (MFeast Usual Care). Eligible participants are low-income, English-speaking Black women age 18 or older with BMI >30 and recent gestational diabetes recruited through Medicaid plans, obstetric clinics, and community partners in Baltimore. Enrollment and baseline data collection begin around 37 weeks gestation with randomization 1:1 and the intervention starting in the first postpartum week, with follow-up via online surveys and clinical outcome verification. The trial is designed to test feasibility, acceptability, preliminary effectiveness, and the potential for sustainability and scalability in a community setting.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Low-income, English-speaking Black or African American women aged 18 or older with BMI >30, recent gestational diabetes, gestational age >37 weeks who are the primary meal planner and willing to receive meal deliveries and complete online surveys are ideal candidates.

Not a fit: Women who have family members preparing their meals, are unlikely to be at their primary residence postpartum, have strict dietary restrictions (severe allergies, vegan), experienced a stillbirth, or have serious mental illness are excluded and unlikely to benefit from this intervention.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, the program could reduce postpartum weight retention and lower future type 2 diabetes risk among high-risk Black women.

How similar studies have performed: Medically tailored meal programs and low-carbohydrate dietary approaches have shown improvements in glycemia and weight in related populations, but a culturally customized, patient-activated hybrid fresh-food model for postpartum Black women is relatively novel.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

* Age ≥18 years
* Self-identify as Black or African American
* Low-income (defined as eligible for Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits)
* Speak English as a primary language
* Identify as a primary meal planner/preparer
* Gestational diabetes
* Gestational age \>37 weeks
* Have a BMI \> 30 (calculated based on chart review of height and weight measurement)
* Willing to take part in the intervention and data collection procedures through online surveys

Exclusion Criteria:

* Mothers who have social support i.e. have family members preparing meals for the mother
* Mothers who are unlikely to be at the primary residence in the postpartum period
* Mothers with very specific dietary needs, i.e, food allergies, picky eaters, vegetarian / vegan
* Mothers whose birth outcome is a stillborn
* Mothers who have serious mental illness

Where this trial is running

Baltimore, Maryland

• East Baltimore Medical Campus — Baltimore, Maryland, United States (Recruiting)

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Michelle S Ogunwole, MD, PhD — Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
• Study coordinator: Michelle S Ogunwole, MD PhD

Conditions Obesity, Maternal; Gestational Diabetes