Epidemiological and Nutritional Characteristics of Twin Gestations in A Sample of Brazilian Maternity Hospital

Abstract

Objective: The aim was to describe socio demo graphic, clinical, obstetric and nutritional profile of twin pregnants receiving prenatal care at a public maternity hospital in Rio de Janeiro. Methods: An analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted from consulting patient records during prenatal care and delivery for adults and teenagers twin pregnancy. Exploratory data analysis included sample description through averages and standard deviation (SD) for continuous variables and proportions for categorical variables. The chi-square test and the Fisher exact test were used to detect association between maternal age (adult or teenager) and independent variables Results: 109 pregnant women were evaluated, 101 were adults and eight were teenagers. Adults and teenagers were similar for the variables pre-pregnancy body mass index (p=0,709), complications during delivery (p=0,638) and postpartum (p=0,674), adequacy of gestational weight gain (p=0,631), gestational age at birth (p=0,791) and type of delivery (p=0,423). The most frequent pregnancy complications were anemia 49(44.9) and hypertensive disorders during pregnancy31(28.4). Prematurity occurred in 52.3% and 92.7% of deliveries were cesarean. Percentage of normal pre-pregnancy body mass index was 53.3%, insufficient weight gain was62.6% and 75.2%were referred a nutritional care during pregnancy. Conclusion: The high prevalence of obstetric complications, caesarean delivery and prematurity are important issues for twin pregnancy. The inadequate total weight gain shows the need for nutritional care during twin pregnancy. Keywords: Twin pregnancy; Nutritional Epidemiology; Prenatal care; Prenatal nutrition