Pre-pregnancy weight and its relation to pregnancy outcome

Abstract

The relation of maternal body build to pregnancy outcome was studied in a prospectively collected one year cohort of singleton pregnancies in Northern Finland. Of the 9015 women, 11.0 per cent were thin (body mass index < 19) and 3.9 per cent obese (body mass 1 3 0 ) .Maternal thinness was most common among young nulliparous women who smoked and obesity among multiparous women of advanced age and lower educational status. Maternal thinness marginally increased the risk of pre-term delivery but had no other relation to the course of labour. It was also associated with the number of small for gestational age and low birth weight babies, whose morbidity was minor compared with similar babies of obese women. Obesity was associated with an increased risk of hypertensive and diabetic disturbances and complications of the course of labour. It was also associated with more macrosomic, large for dates babies and marginally with the number of babies who were transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit after birth.

Obesity in pregnancy: a study of the impact of maternal obesity on NHS maternity services

“…Other issues relating to maternal obesity that were identified in the interviews and that are supported by published evidence relate to a higher incidence of shoulder dystocia, 5,22 longer duration of labour, 20 postoperative maternal morbidities such as wound infections and urinary tract infections, 15,5 length of stay and frequency of contact/level of care required because of coexisting and developing co-morbidities, 15,8 and complications with the infant during delivery and neonatally such as fetal distress, birth trauma, and feeding difficulties. 5,19,16,22 A number of issues raised in the interviews are not supported by published research; this may be because of the reliance of the majority of published studies on quantitative methodology and addressing specific biomedical impacts of maternal obesity, in particular relating to the outcome of pregnancy.…”

“…The need for induction of labour and caesarean deliveries when the mother is obese or morbidly obese has been reported by numerous studies. 5,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Vahratian et al 20 discuss the need for more frequent administration of oxytocin to stimulate contractions during labour and a significant increase in emergency caesarean deliveries in the obese mother. Rode et al 21 also address a significant increase in emergency caesarean delivery rates, as well as overall caesarean rates, and elective caesareans.…”

Maternal body mass index and post‐term birth: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Linear model with data from all included studies; nonlinear model following sensitivity analysis and exclusion of Lumme et al . (Fig. S5 and Table S9).…”

Associations between reproduction and maternal body weight: examining the component parts of a full reproductive cycle

“…In its most recent recommendations, the Institute of Medicine encouraged underweight American women to gain more than the 12.5 kg previously recommended and overweight and obese women to gain less than normal-weight women (Institute of Medicine, 1990). Reports vary about whether underweight women are at excess risk of shortened gestation (Naeye, 1990, Siega-Riz et al, 1996Lumme et al, 1995;Cnattingius et al, 1998). They are not at excess risk of low weight gain independent of the duration of gestation (Edwards et al, 1978;Abrams & Laros, 1986;Caulfield et al, 1996).…”