Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 2, 2026

Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts
Published on: January 29, 2018
The association between gestational weight gain z-score and stillbirth: a case-control study
Cassandra M Pickens1,2, Carol J Hogue3, Penelope P Howards3
1Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA. cassandra.pickens@gmail.com.
Background:
There is limited information on potentially modifiable risk factors for stillbirth, such as gestational weight gain (GWG). Our purpose was to explore the association between GWG and stillbirth using the GWG z-score.
Methods:
We analyzed 479 stillbirths and 1601 live births from the Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network case-control study. Women with triplets or monochorionic twins were excluded from analysis. We evaluated the association between GWG z-score (modeled as a restricted cubic spline with knots at the 5th, 50th, and 95th percentiles) and stillbirth using multivariable logistic regression with generalized estimating equations, adjusting for pre - pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and other confounders. In addition, we conducted analyses stratified by pre - pregnancy BMI category (normal weight, overweight, obese).
Results:
Mean GWG was 18.95 (SD 17.6) lb. among mothers of stillbirths and 30.89 (SD 13.3) lb. among mothers of live births; mean GWG z-score was - 0.39 (SD 1.5) among mothers of cases and - 0.17 (SD 0.9) among control mothers. In adjusted analyses, the odds of stillbirth were elevated for women with very low GWG z-scores (e.g., adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% Confidence Interval (CI) for z-score - 1.5 SD versus 0 SD: 1.52 (1.30, 1.78); aOR (95% CI) for z-score - 2.5 SD versus 0 SD: 2.36 (1.74, 3.20)). Results differed slightly by pre - pregnancy BMI. The odds of stillbirth were slightly elevated among women with overweight BMI and GWG z-scores ≥1 SD (e.g., aOR (95% CI) for z-score of 1.5 SD versus 0 SD: 1.84 (0.97, 3.50)).
Conclusions:
GWG z-scores below - 1.5 SD are associated with increased odds of stillbirth.
More Related Videos
06:39Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
Published on: June 13, 2021
05:44Author Spotlight: Collecting the Brain and Serum from the Same Mice Fetus to Study Brain Tumor Development
Published on: May 17, 2024
Related Concept Videos
z Scores and Area Under the Curve
Testing a Claim about Mean: Known Population SD
Estimating a population mean requires the samples to be distributed normally. The data should be collected from the randomly selected samples having no sampling bias. The sample size needed to be higher than 30, and most importantly, the population standard deviation should be already known.
In most realistic situations, the population standard deviation is often unknown, but in rare circumstances, when it...
Regression Toward the Mean
Normal Distribution
Introduction to z Scores
z scores...
Introduction to z Scores
z scores...