Despite 2009 guidelines, few women report being counseled correctly about weight gain during pregnancy

The purpose of this study was to determine the information that pregnant women report receiving when being counseled about weight gain and the risks of inappropriate gain.

With the use of a self-administered questionnaire at prenatal clinics in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, a cross-sectional survey was conducted of women who had had at least 1 prenatal visit, who could read English, and who had a live singleton gestation.

Three hundred ten women completed the survey, which was a 93.6% response rate. Although 28.5% (95% confidence interval, 23.5-33.6%) reported that their health care provider had made a recommendation about how much weight they should gain, only 12.0% (95% confidence interval, 8-16.1%) of the women reported having achieved the recommended weight gain in accordance with the 2009 guidelines. One quarter of the women reported being told that there were risks with inappropriate gain.

Despite the recent 2009 publication of the gestational weight gain guidelines, only 12% of women reported being counseled correctly, which suggests an urgent need for improved patient education.