Maternal BMI, weight gain during pregnancy, gestational age and Filipino ethnicity are important predictors of birth weight in a multiethnic population in Hawaii

Abstract

Birth weight remains an important indicator of future health. Mother‐infant pairs (n=334) were studied, using electronic medical record data from Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, to examine determinants of birth weight in an understudied population. Maternal education, maternal age, tobacco use during pregnancy, and gestational diabetes diagnosis did not predict infant birth weight. Maternal BMI and pregnancy weight gain predicted infant birth weight in multiple regression analysis, explaining 5% of the variability in birth weight. Adding gestational age and ethnic group (Native Hawaiian, Asian, Filipino, Pacific Islander, Hawaiian‐Asian, Other Mixed ethnicity, Other ethnicity, with White reference group) to maternal BMI and pregnancy weight gain yielded a model where 48% of the variability in birth weight was explained. Birth weight of Filipinos was 231g lower than Whites, controlling for gestational age, maternal weight gain during pregnancy and pre‐pregnant BMI. These findings confirm findings of earlier studies done in other ethnic populations that show that key predictors of infant birth weight are maternal BMI and weight gain during pregnancy. After controlling for key variables, this study reveals lower birth weight among Filipinos as compared to Whites in Hawaii. USDA AFRI/NIFA Grant #2007–04557