Maternal Weight Levels Before and During Gestation as Indicators of Pregnancy Outcomes in Zibo, China

Aims: To examine the correlation of maternal weight gain before and during pregnancy with the health of mother and child, and to provide guidelines on weight control during pregnancy among Chinese women.

Study Design: Subjects were grouped according to pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain, and then evaluated based on their risks of pregnancy complications. The birth outcomes were also recorded to study the influence of mothers’ weight gain on the health of their children.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Obstetrics, Zibo Central Hospital, between August and December 2016.

Methodology: We included a total of 808 primiparous women who finished all periodic examinations in Zibo Central Hospital, China during the study period. Incidences of multiple common pregnancy complications were recorded to evaluate the health risk of each group. After delivery, the nutritional conditions of newborns were evaluated with their body weights.

Results: Observation to subjects reveals the positive correlation between pre-pregnancy BMI and the incidence of gestational hypertension (1.3% vs. 7.7% between low body weight group and obese group). On the other hand, gestational body weight gain was found to be associated with multiple unfavorable pregnancy outcomes including hypertension disorder complicating pregnancy (2.6% vs. 8.9% between weight gain ΔW ≤ 10kg and ΔW ≥ 20kg), gestational diabetes mellitus (9.0% vs. 23.6% between weight gain ΔW ≤ 10kg and ΔW ≥ 20kg) and premature rupture of membranes (3.9% vs. 6.7% between weight gain ΔW ≤ 10kg and ΔW ≥ 20kg). Both pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational body weight correlate positively with infant body weights.

Conclusion: Both pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain are indicators of pregnancy outcomes. Particularly, gestational weight increase between 10 and 15 kg is recommended to counteract negative influence of non-optimal pre-pregnancy BMI and lead to satisfactory pregnancy outcomes.