[Pregestational overweight and obesity: prevalence and outcome associated with pregnancy]

To describe the obstetric outcome of women with overweight/obesity treated at the prenatal care clinic of a public maternity hospital in Rio de Janeiro.

A descriptive cross-sectional study which investigated 433 women (≥20 years-old, without any chronic diseases) and their newborns treated at public hospitals in Rio de Janeiro. Information was collected from medical records and through interviews. The characteristics of mothers and newborns evaluated were divided into maternal (social habits, anthropometric measurements and clinical, obstetric, and prenatal care) and newborn groups (birth conditions). Data regarding the categories of nutritional status were analyzed using the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).

The prevalence of overweight/obesity in this sample was 24.5% (n=106). There was an association between inadequate weight gain and the prevalence of overweight/obesity (OR 2.7, 95%CI 1.5-4.9, p<0.05). Overweight/obese women had an increased risk for preeclampsia (OR 3.3, 95%CI 1.1--9.9, p=0.03). Regarding birth conditions, mean birth weight was 3291.3 g (±455.2), with rates of low birth weight of 4.7% (n=5) and rates of macrosomia of 2.8% (n=3).

There was an alarming prevalence of inadequate nutritional status before and during pregnancy, which may be associated with increased risk of perinatal morbidity and mortality. This suggests the need for nutritional monitoring of these pregnant women.