{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,12]],"date-time":"2026-01-12T10:46:08Z","timestamp":1768214768706,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,11]],"date-time":"2026-01-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768089600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"NSW Health Translational Research Grants Scheme (TRGS) Round 3"},{"name":"Maridulu Budyari Gumal SPHERE Maternal, Newborn and Women\u2019s Clinical Academic Group","award":["MNW CAG"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MNW CAG"]}]},{"name":"a National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia) Early Career Fellowship","award":["APP 1141570"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["APP 1141570"]}]},{"name":"a New South Wales Health Early-Mid Career Cardiovascular Fellowship"},{"name":"a National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia) Early Career Fellowship","award":["APP 1158876"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["APP 1158876"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) have significant implications for women\u2019s long-term health, including at least a twofold increased lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The Blood Pressure Postpartum (BP2) Study was a three-arm randomised trial evaluating follow-up and lifestyle behaviour change strategies during the first year after HDP. Methods: This qualitative sub-study, embedded within the BP2 Study, explored women\u2019s experiences of life in the first year following HDP. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 34 women, approximately 10\u201312 months postpartum. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and a thematic analysis was undertaken. Results: Participants reflected on their experiences post-HDP; three major themes were identified: Navigating life with a newborn, The value of support, and Processing and Moving forward. Some women felt informed and empowered to make positive lifestyle changes; others were still processing their HDP experience and\/or feeling overwhelmed by the demands of early motherhood. Responses were influenced by their HDP experience, available support, prior experience with healthy behaviours, and financial stability. Conclusions: The findings highlight that postpartum women who experienced HDP face unique challenges, including physical recovery, emotional processing, and intensive infant care. It often takes time for these women to begin prioritising their own health, as they navigate these challenges. The insights generated from women\u2019s experiences suggest that flexible, accessible, and individually tailored support may facilitate postpartum health, promote lifestyle change, and help reduce long-term CVD risk.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph23010100","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,12]],"date-time":"2026-01-12T07:30:34Z","timestamp":1768203034000},"page":"100","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Women\u2019s Postpartum Experiences of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy: A Qualitative Study of Barriers and Enablers to Healthy Lifestyle Behaviours"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2339-3751","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lynne","family":"Roberts","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Women\u2019s and Children\u2019s Health St George Hospital, Sydney 2217, Australia"},{"name":"St George and Sutherland Clinical Campus, School of Clinical Medicine, University of NSW Medicine and Health, Sydney 2217, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3833-3076","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chris","family":"Rossiter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9879-4969","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elizabeth","family":"Denney-Wilson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia"},{"name":"Sydney Local Health District, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, Sydney 2050, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9574-6248","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Megan","family":"Gow","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The George Institute for Global Health, UNSW Medicine and Health, Sydney 2031, Australia"},{"name":"School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7351-8922","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amanda","family":"Henry","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Women\u2019s and Children\u2019s Health St George Hospital, Sydney 2217, Australia"},{"name":"The George Institute for Global Health, UNSW Medicine and Health, Sydney 2031, Australia"},{"name":"Discipline of Women\u2019s Health, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, W., Xie, X., Yuan, T., Wang, Y., Zhao, F., Zhou, Z., and Zhang, H. 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