Pregestational body mass index is related to neonatal abdominal circumference at birth—a Danish population‐based study

Abstract

Objectives To examine the impact of maternal pregestational body mass index (BMI) and smoking on neonatal abdominal circumference (AC) and weight at birth. To define reference curves for birth AC and weight in offspring of healthy, nonsmoking, normal weight women.Design Population-based study. Main outcome measures Birth AC and weight in relation to pregestational maternal BMI, maternal smoking and medical conditions (any).Results Birth AC and weight increased with increasing pregestational BMI, and decreased with smoking (P < 0.0001). Reference curves were created for offspring of healthy, nonsmoking mothers with normal pregestational BMI. Mean AC ranged from 30.1 cm and 30.2 cm at 35 weeks of gestation to 33.9 cm and 34.1 cm at 41 weeks of gestation, for girls and boys, respectively. Mean birthweight ranged from 2581 and 2666 g at 35 weeks to 3705 and 3852 g at 41 weeks of gestation for girls and boys, respectively. Pregestational BMI correlated more to the Z score of birthweight than to the Z score of AC (P < 0.0001).Conclusion Birth AC and weight are affected by maternal smoking status and pregestational BMI. Pregestational BMI correlated more to birthweight than to AC. Using data from healthy, nonsmoking mothers with normal pregestational BMI we have provided new reference curves for birth AC and birthweight.

Anthropometrics and Body Composition by Dual Energy X-Ray in Children of Obese Women: A Follow-Up of a Randomized Controlled Trial (the Lifestyle in Pregnancy and Offspring [LiPO] Study)

“…In our study, only 9% of the children of obese women were classified as overweight or obese at the age of 2.8 years. The prevalence of being overweight or obese and the mean birth weight were similar to the general Danish population [4], [30]. Accordingly, we would suggest that the women who participated in our follow-up study represented a group of obese women who were motivated by health-promotion, and that the children benefitted from their motherś voluntary participation in the LiP study, regardless of the randomization.…”

“…Potential confounders included maternal age, parity, educational level (school ≥12 years), GWG, smoking during pregnancy, breastfeeding (exclusive breastfeeding for at least 5 months), birth weight Z-score and post natal excessive growth. Birth weight Z-scores were calculated from recently published gestational age and sex-specific Danish birth weight standards [4], and excessive growth was estimated by investigating changes in weight Z-scores (calculated from the current Danish reference [21]) from 0 to 12 months. Only children with information on all the above variables were included, and since we did not have information on glucose values during pregnancy in the reference group, this variable was not included in the analysis.…”

“…Over two thirds of obese children become obese adults [2], [3] and maternal obesity is linked to obesity of their offspring in both early [4]–[6] and later life [7], [8]. Other maternal factors such as impaired glucose tolerance and excess gestational weight gain (GWG) are also associated with adverse effects on the body composition of offspring [9]–[12].…”

Association of third-trimester abdominal circumference with provider-initiated preterm delivery

“…As such, it is possible ascertainment bias that may influence our findings, though all pregnancies with previously documented fetal growth abnormalities were excluded. We lacked data on additional potential confounders such as body mass index, alcohol intake and smoking during pregnancy [24-26], Data on the indication for preterm delivery was retrospectively collected from non-standardized provider documentation and thus was subject to interpretation by reviewers, though variability was minimized by independent reviews.…”

Higher Gestational Weight Gain Is Associated With Increasing Offspring Birth Weight Independent of Maternal Glycemic Control in Women With Type 1 Diabetes

“…In healthy pregnant women, obesity predisposes to fetal overgrowth (14,15), and the risk increases with rising prepregnancy BMI (16). Excessive gestational weight gain has been identified as yet another emerging risk factor for neonatal overweight (16)(17)(18), whereas low gestational weight gain has been shown to be associated with the birth of small-for-gestational-age infants (16).…”