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Maternal prepregnancy obesity and achievement of infant motor developmental milestones in the upstate KIDS study

Amanda Wylie1, Rajeshwari Sundaram, Christopher Kus

  • 1Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Rockville, Maryland, USA; Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.)
|March 11, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Maternal prepregnancy obesity is linked to delayed infant gross motor skills like sitting and crawling. This finding suggests potential impacts on early childhood development, emphasizing the importance of maternal health.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Developmental Biology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Maternal prepregnancy obesity is a growing concern linked to adverse infant outcomes.
  • Previous research on maternal weight status and infant motor development has yielded inconsistent findings.
  • Understanding this relationship is crucial for early intervention and public health strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and the gross motor development of infants.
  • To determine if maternal obesity influences the timing of achieving key motor milestones.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from 4,901 mother-infant pairs in the longitudinal Upstate KIDS study.
  • Mothers reported infant motor milestone achievement at 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24 months.
  • Failure time modeling (Weibull distribution) was used to compare milestone achievement across maternal BMI categories.

Main Results:

  • Infants born to mothers with obesity (BMI > 30) showed delayed sitting without support (HR=0.91, P=0.03) and crawling (HR=0.86, P<0.001) compared to normal-weight mothers (BMI < 25).
  • Higher gestational age was associated with faster milestone achievement, but did not alter the primary findings.
  • Results were adjusted for relevant maternal and birth characteristics.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal prepregnancy obesity is associated with a statistically significant delay in infant gross motor development, specifically sitting and crawling.
  • Potential mechanisms include a compromised intrauterine environment or reduced opportunities for physically active play.
  • These findings highlight the importance of addressing maternal prepregnancy weight for optimal infant motor development.
Abstract

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