Maternal Anthropometric Characteristics and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in Iranian Women: A Confirmation Analysis

Adverse pregnancy outcome are frequent in developing countries. Pregnancy outcomes are influenced by numerous factors. It seems that maternal anthropometric indices are among the most important factors in this era. The aim of this study was to determine any association between maternal anthropometric characteristics and adverse pregnancy outcomes in Iranian women and provide a predictive model by using factors affecting birth weight (BW) via the pathway analysis.

This study was performed in Alborz province between September 2014 and December 2016. In this cross-sectional study, 1006 pregnant women who had the study criteria were selected from 1500 pregnant women. The data were collected in 2 phases: at their first prenatal visit and during the postpartum period. Demographic data, history of previous pregnancy, fundal height (FH), gestational weight gain (GWG), and abdominal circumference (AC) were recorded. Pathway (path) analysis was used to assess effective factors on pregnancy outcomes.

The mean and standard deviation of participant age at delivery was 25.97 ± 5.71 years. Overall, 4.6% of infants were low BW (LBW) and 5.8% had macrosomia. The final model, with a good fit accounting for 22% of BW variance, indicated that AC and FH (both P < 0.001), and pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.01) had positive direct effect on BW, while pre-pregnancy BMI and GWG (both P < 0.001) affected BW indirectly through their effect on FH and AC.

Based on the path analysis model, FH and AC of neonates with the greatest impact on BW, could be predicted by mother's BMI before pregnancy and weight gain during pregnancy. Therefore, close observation during prenatal care can reduce the risk of abnormal BW.