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Patterns and trajectories of gestational weight gain: a prospective cohort study

Megan Jarman1, Yan Yuan1, Mohammadreza Pakseresht1

  • 1Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science (Jarman, Pakseresht, Robson, Bell) and School of Public Health (Yuan, Shi), University of Alberta; Cancer Measurement, Outcomes, Research and Evaluation (C-MORE) (Robson), Cancer Control Alberta, Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, Alta.

CMAJ Open
|August 16, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Adherence to gestational weight gain guidelines was low, particularly for overweight and obese women. Tailored support is needed to improve pregnancy weight management and outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Maternal-Fetal Medicine
  • Public Health Nutrition

Background:

  • Excess or insufficient gestational weight gain (GWG) increases risks for maternal and infant health.
  • Health Canada provides guidelines for recommended GWG.
  • Understanding GWG patterns is crucial for optimizing pregnancy outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe GWG patterns and trajectories in a large prospective cohort of pregnant women and adolescents.
  • To analyze GWG in relation to prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) categories.
  • To assess adherence to Health Canada's GWG guidelines.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective cohort study of 1541 pregnant women and adolescents in Alberta.
  • Weight and height data collected during each trimester and 3 months postpartum.
  • Participants categorized by prepregnancy BMI (underweight, normal, overweight, obese).
  • Calculated total and weekly GWG rates and determined weight gain trajectories.

Main Results:

  • Nearly half (49.4%) of participants exceeded GWG guidelines; 17.6% gained less than recommended.
  • Overweight and obese participants showed the highest rates of exceeding GWG limits.
  • Median GWG exceeded upper limits by 30, 20, and 18 weeks for normal, overweight, and obese categories, respectively.
  • 30.3% of overweight and 39.6% of obese participants gained weight at more than double the recommended rate.

Conclusions:

  • Adherence to GWG guidelines was notably low in the study population.
  • Excessive GWG was most prevalent among women with higher prepregnancy BMI.
  • Personalized weight management strategies tailored to prepregnancy BMI are recommended to improve guideline adherence.
Abstract

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