The Risks Associated With Obesity in Pregnancy

Approximately one-third of all women of childbearing age are overweight or obese. For these women, pregnancy is associated with increased risks for both mother and child.

This review is based on pertinent publications retrieved by a selective search of PubMed, with special attention to current population-based cohort studies, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and controlled trials.

Obesity in pregnancy is associated with unfavorable clinical outcomes for both mother and child. Many of the risks have been found to depend linearly on the body-mass index (BMI). The probability of conception declines linearly, starting from a BMI of 29 kg/m2, by 4% for each additional 1 kg/m2 of BMI (hazard ratio 0.96, 95% confidence interval: [0.91; 0.99]). A 10% increase of pregravid BMI increases the relative risk of gestational diabetes and that of preeclampsia by approximately 10% each. A 5 kg/m2 increase of BMI elevates the relative risk of intrauterine death to 1.24 [1.18; 1.30]. An estimated 11% of all neonatal deaths can be attributed to the consequences of maternal overweight and obesity. Nonetheless, in most randomized controlled trials, nutritional and lifestyle interventions did not bring about any clinically relevant reduction in the incidence of gestational diabetes and fetal macrosomia.

The risks associated with obesity in pregnancy cannot necessarily be influenced by intervention. Preventive measures aimed at normalizing body weight before a woman becomes pregnant are, therefore, all the more important.