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Excess gestational weight gain is associated with short‐ and long‐term pregnancy complications. Although a healthy diet and physical activity during pregnancy are recommended and shown to reduce the risk of complications and improve outcomes, adherence to these recommendations is low. The aims of this study were to explore women's view of nutrition and physical activity during pregnancy and to describe barriers and facilitators experienced in implementing physical activity and nutrition recommendations. In a substudy of the Be Healthy in Pregnancy randomized trial, 20 semistructured focus groups were conducted with 66 women randomized to the control group when they were between 16 and 24 weeks gestation. Focus groups were recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded and thematically analysed. The results indicate that women felt motivated to be healthy for their baby, but competing priorities may take precedence. Participants described limited knowledge and access to information on safe physical activity in pregnancy and lacked the skills needed to operationalize both physical activity and dietary recommendations. Women's behaviours regarding diet and physical activity in pregnancy were highly influenced by their own and their peers' beliefs and values regarding how weight gain impacted their health during pregnancy. Pregnancy symptoms beyond women's control such as fatigue and nausea made physical activity and healthy eating more challenging. Counselling from care providers about nutrition and physical activity was perceived as minimal and ineffective. Future interventions should address improving counselling strategies and address individual's beliefs around nutrition and activity in pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This self-study captures our joint journey to create a living educational theory of knowledge-translation in nursing. The failure to translate research knowledge into practice is identified as a significant issue in the nursing profession. Our research story takes a critical view of knowledge-translation related to the philosophical inconsistency between what is espoused in the knowledge related to the discipline of nursing and what is done in practice. The purpose of this research is to explore our own challenges and success with knowledge-translation as a way to improve our practice as well as to influence the practice of others. We employ a Living Theory Methodology to address our issue. Our data analysis reveals key elements of collaborative reflective dialogue that include multiple ways of knowing, embracing vulnerability, inspiring authenticity, and improving learning. We find it is a culture of inquiry (Delong, 2013) that stimulates knowledge co-construction and has reframed our understanding of knowledge-translation as a holistic, active process, which reflects the essence of who we are and what we do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]