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Does Maternal Obesity Affect Preterm Birth? Documentary Cohort Study of Preterm in Firstborns-Silesia (Poland)

Karolina Sobczyk1, Tomasz Holecki1, Joanna Woźniak-Holecka2

  • 1Department of Health Economics and Health Management, School of Health Sciences in Bytom, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 41902 Bytom, Poland.

Children (Basel, Switzerland)
|July 27, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Maternal obesity significantly increases the risk of preterm birth, particularly extremely and very preterm deliveries. This highlights the importance of pre-pregnancy weight management for reducing adverse birth outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Neonatology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Preterm birth is a significant challenge in neonatology, with multifactorial causes.
  • Maternal obesity is increasingly recognized as a key risk factor for preterm delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between pre-pregnancy Body Mass Index (BMI) and the risk of preterm delivery.
  • To analyze the risk of preterm birth across different gestational age categories in relation to maternal BMI.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort study involving 2794 firstborns.
  • Classification of deliveries into extremely preterm, very preterm, and moderately preterm categories.
  • Analysis of preterm delivery rates based on maternal BMI (normal weight vs. overweight/obese).

Main Results:

  • Preterm deliveries constituted 9.1% of all births.
  • The risk of extremely, very, and moderately preterm deliveries escalated with increasing maternal BMI.
  • Overweight and obese women (BMI ≥ 25) had a higher incidence of preterm delivery (10.3%) compared to normal-weight women (8%).
  • The adjusted odds ratio for preterm delivery in overweight and obese women was 1.33 (95% CI: 0.98-1.79).

Conclusions:

  • Maternal overweight and obesity during early pregnancy are linked to an elevated risk of preterm birth in Poland.
  • The association is particularly pronounced for extremely and very preterm deliveries.
  • Further research is recommended to validate these findings in diverse populations.

Keywords:
obesityoverweightpregnancyprematuritypreterm birth

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