The Relation between Early Pregnancy Anthropometric Indices among Primiparous Women and Macrosomia

The prevalence of obesity is increasing in both developed and developing nations. Body mass index (BMI) is the most common index for obesity assessment and its relation with most complications among non-pregnant and pregnant women is known. However, no study has evaluated the relation between abdominal obesity and macrosomia among pregnant women.

In this prospective study, anthropometric indices including weight, height, and waist circumference (WC) of 1140 nulliparous pregnant women during their first trimester of pregnancy (6(th)-10(th) weeks) were measured by the researcher. According to the classification of the World Health Organization, women with BMI > 25 kg/m(2) were considered as overweight or obese. Abdominal obesity was defined as WC ≥ 88 cm. Finally, mothers were followed up and fetal macrosomia was recorded in a checklist. Data was analyzed in SPSS15.

The results showed that 77.5% of women aged 20-35 years and 92.7% were housewives. The mean (SD) values of BMI and WC were 24.32 (4.08) kg/m(2) and 81.84 (9.25) cm, respectively. The prevalence of overweight (BMI = 25-29.9 kg/m(2)) and obesity (BMI > 29.9 kg/m) was 27.6% and 8.8%, respectively. Abdominal obesity based on WC was found in 34.8% of the subjects.

Findings of this study revealed obesity in over one third of nulliparous pregnant women during their first trimester. Moreover, the high prevalence of macrosomia, in these women confirmed the importance of maternal education about obesity-related complications in order to change their lifestyle and prevent obesity.