Heavier women carry pregnancy risks

Wednesday March 27th, 2013

Pregnant women who are overweight or obese may need specialist care that is not offered under current guidelines, researchers warn today.

Dr Valerie Holmes and her team at Queen's University Belfast and Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, UK, looked at the impact of body mass index (BMI) on maternal and neonatal outcomes using figures on 30,298 pregnancies in Northern Ireland.

Of the women, 2.8% were underweight, 52.5% normal weight, 27.8% overweight, 11% obese class I, 3.9% obese class II and 1.9% obese class III. Class I obesity was defined as a BMI of 30 to just under 35, class II as a 35 to just under 40, and class III 40 or above.

Women in the overweight and obese class I category had an increased risk of hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes, induction of labour, caesarean, post-partum haemorrhage and macrosomia (large birthweight baby), compared to normal weight women. All of these risks were significantly higher for obese class II and III women.

Dr Holmes and colleagues say that women in obese class III were four times more likely to develop gestational diabetes than normal weight women, and women in obese class III were at the highest risk of further problems including having a premature baby and stillbirth.

Their study is presented today (27 March) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Underweight women were at risk of anaemia and more likely to have a low birthweight baby compared to normal weight women.

Dr Holmes says: "By having obesity in sub-classifications, we were able to highlight the relationship between increasing BMI and the increasing risk of adverse outcomes."

Co-author Dale Spence added that overweight or obese women may not be offered the appropriate level of specialist care under current guidelines.

Scott-Pillai, R. et al. The impact of body mass index on maternal and neonatal outcomes: A retrospective study in UK Obstetric population. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 27 March 2013 doi:10.1111/1471-0528.12193 [abstract]

Tags: Childbirth and Pregnancy | Diet & Food | Fitness | NHS | UK News | Women's Health & Gynaecology

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