Hearty Meals for Mom- Pilot Study of Meal Delivery for Cardiometabolic Health During Pregnancy

July 10, 2026 updated by: Camille S Worthington, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Use of Home-delivered Meals to Manage Cardiometabolic Health During Pregnancy Among Predominantly Black, Low-income Women in Alabama

This study is being done to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary impact of a meal delivery intervention designed to improve diet quality and promote appropriate gestational weight gain among predominantly Black and low-income pregnant women with overweight or obesity. This will be done by 1) assessing the feasibility and acceptability of the meal delivery intervention; 2) investigating changes in patient-reported diet quality, barriers to healthy eating, and food security; and 3) exploring the preliminary impact of the meal delivery intervention on gestational weight gain and blood pressure and estimate the effect size of the intervention relative to a de-identified non-randomized control group that will be derived from de-identified hospital records.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Subjects will receive 10 home-delivered meals per week from about 20 weeks gestation until 40 weeks gestation.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
17

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: Camille S Worthington, PhD
  • Phone Number: 205-975-7274
  • Email: cschneid@uab.edu

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Alabama
      • Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35294
        • University of Alabama at Birmingham

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Medicaid eligible and/or have a household income at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty line
  • 18 years of age or older
  • <= 19 weeks gestation
  • Currently experiencing a singleton pregnancy
  • Receiving prenatal care at a University of Alabama at Birmingham clinic
  • Planning to deliver at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
  • Residing within the meal company's delivery radius
  • Body mass index >= 25
  • Willing to consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Self-reported major health condition (such as renal disease, cancer, or Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes)
  • Current treatment for severe psychiatric disorder (such as schizophrenia)
  • Current substance abuse
  • Self-reported diagnosis of anorexia or bulimia
  • Known fetal anomaly
  • Current use of medication expected to significantly impact body weight
  • Planned termination of the current pregnancy
  • Participation in another dietary and/or weight management intervention during the current pregnancy
  • Unwilling or unable to understand and communicate in English
  • Unwilling or unable to consume study meals

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Meal Delivery
Behavioral intervention program designed to improve diet quality and promote healthy weight gain in women with overweight/obesity through meal delivery and behavioral strategies during pregnancy.
Behavioral: Meal Delivery
10 home-delivered meals per week provided by a local meal delivery company + brief weekly behavioral support with study staff

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Healthy Eating Index score from baseline to follow-up
Time Frame: three 24-hour dietary recalls on non-consecutive days at baseline (18-22 weeks gestation) and follow-up (33-37 weeks gestation)
Determined based on the Healthy Index Score, in which 100 indicates complete alignment with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and 0 is the minimum score, as calculated from three 24-hour dietary recalls conducted on non-consecutive days (2 weekdays + 1 weekend day) at each time point.
three 24-hour dietary recalls on non-consecutive days at baseline (18-22 weeks gestation) and follow-up (33-37 weeks gestation)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Food Security
Time Frame: baseline (18-22 weeks gestation), (33-37 weeks gestation)
Determined using the 18-item United States (US) Household Food Security Survey Module based on the previous 30 days. Adult food security scores range from 0 to 10, with lower values indicating greater food security.
baseline (18-22 weeks gestation), (33-37 weeks gestation)
Change in Barriers to Healthy Eating
Time Frame: baseline (18-22 weeks gestation), follow-up (33-37 weeks gestation)
Participants will be asked to score 5 statements corresponding to different barriers to healthy eating on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree (adapted from Sibai D et al. 2022). Changes in the distribution of responses to each barrier will be assessed, as well as changes in the proportion of women somewhat/strongly agreeing with each barrier will be compared.
baseline (18-22 weeks gestation), follow-up (33-37 weeks gestation)
Study Participation Rate
Time Frame: baseline (18-22 weeks gestation)
Percentage of eligible subjects who agreed to participate out of those who were screened.
baseline (18-22 weeks gestation)
Participant Retention
Time Frame: baseline (18-22 weeks gestation), follow-up (33-37 weeks gestation)
The proportion of enrolled participants who complete follow-up
baseline (18-22 weeks gestation), follow-up (33-37 weeks gestation)
Participant Adherence to Intervention
Time Frame: Collected weekly from intervention start (20-24 weeks gestation) to intervention end (40 weeks gestation)
Proportion of weekly study meals participants consumed based on responses to weekly electronic surveys in which participants will report the number of study meals a) they consumed, b) other household members consumed, or c) that were uneaten.
Collected weekly from intervention start (20-24 weeks gestation) to intervention end (40 weeks gestation)
Change in Participant Satisfaction with Diet
Time Frame: baseline (18-22 weeks gestation), follow-up (33-37 weeks gestation)
To assess satisfaction with the study intervention, the 28-item Diet Satisfaction Questionnaire will be used in which participants respond to 28 statements using a 5-point Likert scale. Responses are average to produce a total diet satisfaction score ranging from 1-5. Changes in overall diet satisfaction, as well as changes in subscale scores for Cost Factor and Planning & Preparation Factor will be examined from baseline to follow-up.
baseline (18-22 weeks gestation), follow-up (33-37 weeks gestation)

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Blood Pressure
Time Frame: First prenatal visit through delivery (Collected once at study end from medical record)
Systolic and diastolic blood pressure measured at each prenatal visit will be retrieved from medical records for all participants at the end of the intervention.
First prenatal visit through delivery (Collected once at study end from medical record)
Gestational weight gain
Time Frame: First prenatal visit through delivery (Collected once at study end from medical record)
Weight measured at each prenatal visit will be retrieved from medical records for all participants at the end of the intervention and used to calculate total gestational weight gain and rate of gestational weight gain.
First prenatal visit through delivery (Collected once at study end from medical record)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Camille S Worthington, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 5, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 31, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 18, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 19, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 23, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 10, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB-300009764
  • P50MD017338 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified individual participant data (IPD) that underlie the results reported in a publication will be made available upon request beginning 9 months and ending 36 months following article publication. The research team will keep a record of all individuals and/or research teams who request and receive a copy of the project data. Interested investigators will be asked to submit a document indicating the specific aims of the analyses, the analytic plan, available resources for completing the proposed project, proposed timeline, and goals (i.e., manuscripts, presentations, and/or grant applications). The PI and research team will review these requests to determine whether the proposed analyses constitute an innovative and significant exploration of the data, whether the proposed team has sufficient resources to complete the request, and whether data will be adequately protected and managed.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data requests can be submitted starting 9 months after publication of results and ending 36 months following article publication.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Access to IPD stripped of all HIPAA identifiers (except age) for this study can be requested by qualified researchers engaging in independent scientific research whose proposed research has received Institutional Review Board approval, and will be provided following review and approval of a research proposal and timeline, statistical analysis plan, and goals (e.g., manuscripts, presentations, grant applications). The Principal Investigator (PI) and research team will review these requests to determine whether the proposed analyses constitute an innovative and significant exploration of the data, whether the proposed team has sufficient resources to complete the request, and whether data will be adequately protected and managed. Based on institutional policies, execution of a Data Sharing Agreement may be required prior to sharing of IPD. IPD requests can be made to the PI at cschneid@uab.edu.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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