Gestational weight gain, pregnancy outcome, and postpartum weight retention

Abstract

Weight gained at an excessive rate by women with a pregravid BMI in the normal range does not greatly enhance fetal growth and gestation duration, contributing instead to postpartum maternal overweight.

Assessment of weight gain during pregnancy in general prenatal care services in Brazil

“…Low birth weight, associated with being underweight prior to pregnancy and having inadequate weight gain during pregnancy, increases future risk of diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease (Barker et al, 1993;Hales et al, 1991;Phillips, 1998). On the other hand, obesity during pregnancy (Cnattingius et al, 1998;Faúndes et al, 1988) and excessive weight gain (IOM, 1990) are associated with an increase in morbidity both for the mother and the fetus (NIH/NHLBI, 1998), including maternal weight retention (Scholl et al, 1995). Additionally, excess birth weight appears to be associated with excess weight later in life (Charney et al, 1976).…”

Non classical risk factors for gestational diabetes mellitus: a systematic review of the literature

“…One of the first studies was published by Scholl et al 59 , in 1995, among low income pregnant and racial minorities from New Jersey, USA. The authors showed that high concentrations of insulin were associated with a greater increase and retention of weight post-partum.…”

Maternal weigh gain during pregnancy and overweight in Portuguese children

“…However, much of the literature regarding weight gain during pregnancy has focused the mother, primarily from the perspective of post-partum weight retention, [5][6][7][8][9] and to our best knowledge there are no published studies that specifically address the association between the weight gained during pregnancy and future risk of overweight/ obesity in children. The aim of our study was to identify early life influences on the development of obesity, namely maternal weight gain during pregnancy and childhood overweight and obesity risk.…”