KSR students make important inroads in pregnancy-health research

It’s never too early in your academic journey to try your hand at research, Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation (KSR) students Emily Bonisteel and Brooke Hebert will tell you. And while the work may be complex, the keys to success and fulfilment, as Hebert says, are simple: “Find a supervisor you click with. Find an area that really interests you. And keep an open mind.” 

Both Bonisteel and Hebert entered university with no plans to pursue research, but with the encouragement and support of KSR professor and mentor Taniya Nagpal, both are now fully immersed in her LEA(p)P(p)S lab and heading up projects of their own. 

Bonisteel met Nagpal while pursuing her undergraduate degree at Brock University, where her passion was ignited to learn more about weight surveillance and weight stigma in pregnant women. Today, Bonisteel is continuing that research in her first year of a master of science at the University of Alberta. 

Hebert, who is now in the final semester of a bachelor’s in kinesiology, also caught the research bug from Nagpal. “I thought volunteering in a lab for other people’s research would be a good way to get my foot in the door and see if I like it,” she recalls. But in their very first meeting, Nagpal asked if she wanted to lead her own project and she couldn’t refuse. 

Both Hebert and Bonisteel are shining examples of the powerful impact early-career researchers can make, especially in previously understudied areas such as pregnant women’s health and fitness. Says Nagpal, “Their projects are exploratory, and will give us insight into important areas related to health during pregnancy. This will hopefully open the doors for more research questions and interventions to promote healthy behaviours like exercise during pregnancy."

Weight monitoring during pregnancy

According to Bonisteel, there is a dearth of existing research on the impact of weight monitoring on expectant mothers. Her project focuses on how women feel when they track their own weight at home, how they feel when their weight is monitored by a health-care provider, and how they respond to the results either way. “Pregnancy brings close monitoring of weight, which we know is beneficial for monitoring progress,” she says, “but we don’t have a grasp on the emotional effects of this surveillance on the expectant mothers.” 

For Bonisteel, this project is the next step in work she began during her undergraduate degree, when she studied weight bias in health-care practitioners toward pregnant women who had obesity. It also leads into her master’s thesis, about how in control of their weight gain women feel during pregnancy. 

“I’m drawn to exploring how we can make the pregnancy experience better for women,” says Bonisteel. “We want women to know why they are stepping on that scale and be prepared for what happens when they do.”

In Nagpal’s lab, Bonisteel enjoys mentoring the undergrads but stresses the collaborative atmosphere is a two-way street. “With our research, you’re never solving problems on your own,” she says. “You’re working with others to make the best product you can.” 

Bonisteel’s love of research took her by surprise. “If you had asked me during my first year of school, I would have said I will never, ever do research,” she says with a laugh. But once she discovered behavioural research, she says, “I absolutely fell in love.” Now, when she thinks about her future, she pictures a PhD and further research, all in the service of pregnant women’s health and happiness. 

Self-efficacy in physical activity during pregnancy

Hebert’s interest in self-efficacy and exercise for pregnant women was sparked in her third year, and a subsequent Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI) summer studentship gave her the chance to deepen that research. 

Hebert spent the studentship designing and promoting an online survey that asks women to share their experiences with physical activity during pregnancy. “WCHRI is such a great organization; to be funded to do research as an undergrad is an amazing and rare opportunity,” she says. 

The study looks at what motivates pregnant women to engage in physical activity — mastery experience (the desire to participate in things they have already done); vicarious experience (being inspired by seeing others exercise); verbal persuasion (being told they should exercise); or physiological and affective states (how they feel after activity). 

“We hope to learn what drives people to participate in physical activity while they’re pregnant and to understand the barriers they may face, such as weight stigma, that might hinder them from being active,” says Hebert, adding that one of the most important aspects of her study is that it offers participants the freedom to express themselves honestly, without any shame or self-blame. The ultimate goal is to encourage an empowering self-awareness in pregnant women about the choices they make around being active.

Like Bonisteel, Hebert was taken by surprise by her newfound love of research. “I had absolutely no idea when I started my degree that I would end up going in this direction,” she says, adding that while she originally assumed she would end her degree with a clinical practicum, she has opted instead for a research practicum and is applying to begin a thesis-based master’s program.

Bonisteel and Hebert are motivated by the same desire to support the health and confidence of pregnant women, both citing the relative lack of research in this area. And with the guidance of supervisor and mentor Taniya Nagpal, both see a bright academic future spent adding to that body of knowledge.

"One of the best parts of my job is working with students and in particular, it is so exciting when you get to offer a first-time experience with research,” says Nagpal. “I am so happy to work with students like Emily and Brooke.”