Towards Defining Optimal Gestational Weight Gain

Abstract

In 2009, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee to Reexamine Pregnancy Weight Gain Guidelines published updated recommendations on the rate and amount of weight that women should gain during pregnancy. These recommendations were based on a large body of primarily observational literature reporting ranges of total pregnancy weight gain associated with lowest risks of a number of adverse maternal and newborn health outcomes. However, the IOM committee identified many gaps in the evidence to support guidelines for optimal amount and pattern of gain. In this article, the authors outline how recent insights on the role of early pregnancy weight gain, patterns of weight gain, emerging evidence from randomized trials of weight gain interventions, and accounting for the relative importance that women and care-providers place on different maternal and child health outcomes may advance our understanding of optimal pregnancy weight gain and inform the creation of improved pregnancy weight gain guidelines.