Obese Pregnant Women Should Not Gain Weight

Filed in archive Medical Issues on May 31, 2009

Photo Credit: syposinc

Until recently, pregnant women are advised to gain between 26-35 pounds during pregnancy, and about 15 pounds for obese women.

However, in a recent study of obese pregnant women with a body mass index of 30 or greater, it seems weight gain is not necessary if a woman is already severely overweight to begin with. Obese pregnant women placed on a healthy, well balanced, monitored nutritional program experience less adverse maternal-fetal outcomes.

In the study, conducted at several hospitals, the researchers followed 232 obese pregnant women, all of whom had a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. Half of the women followed conventional prenatal nutritional guidelines, which is essentially "eat to appetite" (control group). The other half were placed on a well-balanced, nutritionally monitored program, which included a daily food diary (study group). The average weight gain in the control group was 31 pounds, compared to 11 pounds in the study group. Twenty-three extremely obese patients lost weight during their pregnancy.

The findings showed that there were no fetal deaths and no growth-restricted infants in the study group. Also, there were fewer babies weighing more than 10 pounds in the study group than in the control group. (A birth weight over 10 pounds poses significant hazards to both infants and mothers.) Moreover, women in the study group gained less weight, had fewer cesarean deliveries, were less likely to develop gestational diabetes, and retained less weight after they delivered than women in the control group.

Gaining unnecessary weight during pregnancy just make it all the more difficult to get back into shape after giving birth, more so for those who are already battling the scales prior to pregnancy.
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