Development of weight gain charts for healthy Egyptian pregnant women

A prospective study was conducted to develop weight gain charts for healthy Egyptian pregnant women and to determine the relationship between different anthropometric indicators and favorable birth weight. A total of 830 pregnant women were enrolled in the study. The mean total weight gain was 9.3 kg. The velocity growth chart that were developed for weight gain showed that the increment of weight was about one kg up to the 4th gestational month, then, a steady increase of 0.37 kg per week till the end of pregnancy. The mean total gain in mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) was 0.8 cm and in triceps skin fold was 1.9 mm. There was a highly positive correlation between all anthropometric indicators studied and the birth weight. However only total weight gain and weight of the mother at first trimester showed significant relation with birth weight after using multi regression analysis. It is recommended to use the developed weight gain charts for monitoring the nutritional status of pregnant women and the MUAC and triceps skin folds are to be used for screening women at risk for malnutrition.