. 2016 Oct 12;16:306. doi: 10.1186/s12884-016-1078-6

Table 3.

Themes and subthemes identified

Themes	Sub-themes
Eating behaviour of pregnant women	External attribution: 1. Foods changing from being usual to dangerous - The “impressive and frustrating list of forbidden foods” - After frustration come anxiety, fear and then guilt - Norms versus personal practices 2. Physiological changes impacting food intakes - Pregnancy pains that restrict women’s food choices - Pregnancy-related physiological changes that modify food choices 3. Weight gain - Losing control over body weight - External surveillance of weight gain - Reassuring themselves Internal attribution: 4. The empowerment endeavour: building a healthier diet for mothers and their babies - Strategies to achieve a healthier diet - Maintaining some food indulgences - Setting personal goals to internalise weight gain - Contributing to their own and their baby’s health and well-being : the beginning of motherhood
Nutrition-related information behaviour	1. Passive absorption of information - From healthcare providers - From their social environment - From the mass media - Difficult cross-checking of information from all sources 2. Active information seeking behaviour - Benefiting from the experiences of people in their social environment - Ambiguous use of the Internet - The ultimate step: asking their healthcare provider for guidance 3. Translating information into eating behaviour

Themes

Sub-themes

Eating behaviour of pregnant women

External attribution:
1. Foods changing from being usual to dangerous
- The “impressive and frustrating list of forbidden foods”
- After frustration come anxiety, fear and then guilt
- Norms versus personal practices
2. Physiological changes impacting food intakes
- Pregnancy pains that restrict women’s food choices
- Pregnancy-related physiological changes that modify food choices
3. Weight gain
- Losing control over body weight
- External surveillance of weight gain
- Reassuring themselves
Internal attribution:
4. The empowerment endeavour: building a healthier diet for mothers and their babies
- Strategies to achieve a healthier diet
- Maintaining some food indulgences
- Setting personal goals to internalise weight gain
- Contributing to their own and their baby’s health and well-being : the beginning of motherhood

Nutrition-related information behaviour

1. Passive absorption of information
- From healthcare providers
- From their social environment
- From the mass media
- Difficult cross-checking of information from all sources
2. Active information seeking behaviour
- Benefiting from the experiences of people in their social environment
- Ambiguous use of the Internet
- The ultimate step: asking their healthcare provider for guidance
3. Translating information into eating behaviour