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Pregnancy and post-delivery maternal weight changes and overweight in preschool children

Camille A Robinson1, Alison K Cohen2, David H Rehkopf3

  • 1University of California -San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, USA; University of California -Berkeley, School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology, Berkeley, CA, USA.

Preventive Medicine
|December 28, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Maternal weight gain during and after pregnancy is linked to preschooler overweight. Maintaining a healthy weight post-delivery is a modifiable risk factor for childhood obesity.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Maternal Health
  • Public Health

Background:

  • High maternal pre-pregnancy weight and gestational weight gain (GWG) are known contributors to child obesity.
  • The role of maternal weight change after delivery in preschooler overweight requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the association between pre- and post-pregnancy maternal weight changes and preschooler overweight.
  • To assess the independent contribution of post-delivery maternal weight change (PDWC) to child overweight.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from 4359 children and 2816 mothers in the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY).
  • Maternal weight changes, including gestational weight gain (GWG) and post-delivery maternal weight change (PDWC), were assessed.
  • Child overweight was defined as a body mass index (BMI) ≥85th percentile at ages 4-5 years.

Main Results:

  • Increased GWG and excessive GWG were significantly associated with preschooler overweight.
  • PDWC was independently associated with an increased risk of preschooler overweight.
  • These associations were more pronounced in children of mothers who were overweight or obese.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal weight gain during pregnancy (GWG) and after delivery (PDWC) are significant predictors of preschooler overweight.
  • Achieving a healthy post-pregnancy weight is a potentially modifiable risk factor for preventing childhood obesity, alongside pre-pregnancy BMI and adequate GWG.
Abstract

Keywords:
Body mass indexChildLongitudinal studiesMothersObesityOverweightPostpartum periodPregnancyWeight gainWeight loss

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