Abstract
Objective: Excess gestational weight gain (GWG) and postpartum weight retention increase risk for multiple maternal and child health complications. It is necessary to determine factors which influence maternal weight across the perinatal period. The aim of this study was to describe change in maternal body mass index (BMI) from prepregnancy to early postpartum, document weight advice provided by clinicians and assess associations of advice received with maternal weight gain during and following pregnancy. Methods: First-time mothers (n=448) and their newborns who attended first-time parent groups at their local Maternal and Child Health Centres were recruited to the InFANT Extend cluster randomised controlled trial. Baseline data collection occurred when women were approximately three months postpartum. Women completed a written questionnaire assessing their own health and the provision of weight-related advice received by clinicians. Prepregnancy weight and GWG were self-reported. Postpartum height and weight were objectively measured. Results: Mean GWG was 14.0 ± 6.08 kg and 41.0% of women experienced excess gestational weight gain. Mean PPWR was 4.3 ± 5.75 kg and mean BMI increased from 24.8 ± 4.9 kg/m² pre-pregnancy to 26.2 ± 4.9 kg/m² at three months postpartum. The proportion of women classified obese (BMI⥠30kg/m2) almost doubled from prepregnancy (11.8%) to three months postpartum (21.7%) (p<0.001). 54.4% of all women reported receiving advice regarding how much weight to gain during pregnancy and 42.6% reported receiving advice to avoid excess GWG. During the postpartum period, just 5.8% of women reported receiving advice about how much they should weigh and 8.3% reported receiving advice about programs to support weight loss. No associations were found between provision of clinician advice with gestational weight gain or postpartum weight retention. Conclusion: More intensive approaches are required, opposed to provision of advice alone, to influence healthy maternal weight across the perinatal period in the interest of best maternal and child health outcomes.
Highlights
The US Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2009 guidelines [1,2] provide clinical guidance as to the amount of weight women should gain during pregnancy and have been adopted in the absence of country specific gestational weight gain (GWG) guidelines (Figure 1) [3,4]
Half (54.4%) of all women reported receiving advice regarding how much weight to gain during pregnancy, while 42.6% reported receiving advice to avoid excess GWG (Table 3)
This study showed a shift in maternal weight across the perinatal period, whereby mean body mass index (BMI) increased by over one whole unit from pre-pregnancy to three months postpartum
Summary
Excess GWG places the mother and child at increased risk of multiple pregnancy complications [1,6,7,8,9,10,11,12] and has been shown to adversely impact offspring birth weight A 20-40% increased risk for babies being born large for gestational age, has been shown to exist, with an increase of 1-2 maternal BMI units between pregnancies [19]. Advice provided by antenatal clinicians may be an effective means to assist women to achieve best maternal weight outcomes. Women are in frequent contact with a wide range of health professionals during the antenatal period [20,21,22]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
