Management of prepregnancy, pregnancy, and postpartum obesity from the FIGO Pregnancy and Non‐Communicable Diseases Committee: A FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics) guideline

Abstract

Obstetricians and gynecologists are well positioned to influence population health through maternity and women's health services. Obesity is common in women of reproductive age and the prevalence is rising in both low-/middle-income and high-income countries 1. Obesity affects requirements for assessment, monitoring, and intervention and can impact maternal and child outcomes. Obstetricians and gynecologists require guidance on the care of women of reproductive age with obesity at all time points related to pregnancy, including how to address modifiable risk factors such as diet and physical activity. Many guidelines have been developed to date, although they vary in scope, methodology, and individual recommendations. FIGO's Committee Guideline for the Management of Prepregnancy, Pregnancy, and Postpartum Obesity (Table 1) reviews good clinical practice recommendations (Table 2-4) from previously published international documents. It serves as a practical resource to support obstetricians and gynecologists in the management of This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Effect of an Antenatal Lifestyle Intervention on Dietary Inflammatory Index and Its Associations with Maternal and Fetal Outcomes: A Secondary Analysis of the PEARS Trial

“…Similarly, we found a potential interaction effect of maternal BMI on the relationship between E-DII TM and mode of delivery, but sub-analysis did not find any significant associations in either the women with overweight or obesity when controlled for all confounders. Maternal obesity increases the risk of many pregnancy complications and adverse birth outcomes [ 50 ]. Previously published work with data from the PEARS study, however, found that women with obesity did not have a significantly greater incidence of caesarean delivery compared to women with overweight [ 51 ].…”

Reducing Postpartum Weight Retention: A Review of the Implementation Challenges of Postpartum Lifestyle Interventions

“…Comprehensive clinical guidelines for routine postpartum care are limited and do not include recommendations for lifestyle or behavioural counselling [ 116 , 117 ]. Guidelines for weight management in the postpartum period are similarly limited with a general lack of guidance on how to implement the evidence into clinical practice [ 19 , 118 , 119 ]. Recommendations on the timing and frequency of postpartum visits are variable and based on weak evidence [ 117 ].…”

A review of maternal overweight and obesity and its impact on cardiometabolic outcomes during pregnancy and postpartum

“…52 Advice on GWG, particularly for women with an obese BMI is also highlighted in the FIGO guideline for the management of pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and post-partum obesity. 53 It must also be acknowledged that there are a wide variety of individual and environmental factors affecting food and physical activity choices. Current guidelines 54 for optimising lifestyle recognise this complex relationship which can be understood through models such as the Social-Ecological Model encompassing social and cultural norms and values, sectors (systems, organisation, and business and industries), settings and individual factors.…”