Heavier Pregnant Women Tend to Deliver Prematurely

In large Swedish study, risk rose along with the mother's weight

By Dennis Thompson

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Overweight or obese women who are pregnant are more likely to give birth prematurely, and the risk of preterm delivery increases with their amount of excess weight, according to a study of more than 1.5 million deliveries in Sweden.

Researchers speculate that the health problems associated with overweight and obesity -- high blood pressure, insulin resistance, high cholesterol, increased chance of infection -- have a direct impact on a woman's ability to carry their child to term, according to the study, which was published in the June 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Birth of an infant prior to 37 weeks of gestation is the leading cause of infant mortality, neonatal illness and long-term disability in children, said researchers led by Dr. Sven Cnattingius of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

A U.S. expert not involved with the study said he wasn't surprised by the findings.

"This just reinforces the fact that the complications of obesity and additional weight gain are deleterious to both mother and fetus," said Dr. Raul Artal, a professor and chairman of the department of obstetrics, gynecology and women's health at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

Artal said this study, along with previous research, makes the case that overweight and obese women who are pregnant can protect the health of their unborn child by maintaining their current weight or even shedding some pounds.

"The concept that we propagated for years that pregnancy is not a good time for weight loss and physical activity is wrong," he said.

For the study, researchers analyzed the records of 1.59 million births between 1992 and 2010, reviewing the body-mass index (BMI) of the women at their first prenatal doctor's visit as well as information recorded following birth about health risks, maternal diseases and pregnancy complications.

BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.

The statistics came from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, which maintains detailed data on all births in that nation and serves as a valuable resource for researchers, a U.S. expert said.

"There's a lot of good obstetric data that comes out of Sweden because of that register," said Dr. Russ Fothergill, vice chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Scott and White Healthcare in Temple, Texas.

The researchers found that the risk of extremely premature (22 to 27 weeks), very premature (28 to 31 weeks) and moderately premature (32 to 36 weeks) deliveries increased with a woman's BMI.

The authors said that even though the study is Swedish, the results can be generalized to other populations with similar or higher rates of maternal obesity or preterm delivery.

View the original article here