Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 15, 2025

Author Spotlight: Collecting the Brain and Serum from the Same Mice Fetus to Study Brain Tumor Development
05:44

Author Spotlight: Collecting the Brain and Serum from the Same Mice Fetus to Study Brain Tumor Development

Published on: May 17, 2024

681

Prenatal weight and regional body composition trajectories and neonatal body composition: The NICHD Foetal Growth

Elizabeth M Widen1,2, Natalie Burns3, Linda G Kahn4

  • 1Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.

Pediatric Obesity
|January 6, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Gestational weight gain patterns minimally impacted neonatal body composition. Pre-pregnancy BMI appears to be a stronger predictor of fetal development than weight gain trajectories during pregnancy.

Area of Science:

  • Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Maternal-Fetal Medicine
  • Neonatal Health

Background:

  • Gestational weight gain (GWG) and changes in maternal anthropometry during pregnancy can influence fetal development.
  • Understanding these prenatal exposures is crucial for optimizing neonatal outcomes.
  • Prenatal anthropometric trajectories are potentially modifiable factors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify distinct patterns of weight gain and anthropometric changes throughout pregnancy.
  • To investigate the relationship between these integrated prenatal exposure patterns and neonatal body composition.
  • To analyze these associations stratified by pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI).

Main Methods:

  • Prospective cohort study of 2182 singleton pregnancies in US perinatal centers (2009-2013).
  • Joint latent trajectory models used to analyze concurrent changes in weight, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), triceps (TSF), and subscapular (SSF) skinfolds.
  • Weighted least squares regression assessed differences in neonatal body composition across identified trajectory classes.

Main Results:

  • Six distinct trajectory patterns of prenatal weight and anthropometric changes were identified overall and by pre-pregnancy BMI group.
  • Minor differences in neonatal subcutaneous adipose tissue were observed for healthy weight individuals, and lean mass for overweight/obese individuals.
  • Infants born to mothers with overweight/obesity exhibited higher measures of neonatal adiposity.

Conclusions:

  • Six integrated trajectory patterns of prenatal weight, adiposity, and circumferences were identified.
  • These patterns showed minimal association with neonatal body composition, indicating a limited role.
  • Pre-pregnancy BMI emerged as a more significant determinant of neonatal body composition than GWG trajectories.
Abstract

Keywords:
adipositybody compositiongestational weight gaininfancylatent class analysispregnancytrajectory modelling

More Related Videos

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale19:15

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale

Published on: August 25, 2014

86.2K
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study09:36

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

27.2K

Related Concept Videos

Regression Toward the Mean01:52

Regression Toward the Mean

Regression toward the mean (“RTM”) is a phenomenon in which extremely high or low values—for example, and individual’s blood pressure at a particular moment—appear closer to a group’s average upon remeasuring. Although this statistical peculiarity is the result of random error and chance, it has been problematic across various medical, scientific, financial and psychological applications. In particular, RTM, if not taken into account, can interfere when...
6.3K
Nature and Nurture01:10

Nature and Nurture

Many human characteristics, like height, are shaped by both nature—in other words, by our genes—and by nurture, or our environment. For example, chronic stress during childhood inhibits the production of growth hormones and consequently reduces bone growth and height. Scientists estimate that 70-90% of variation in height is due to genetic differences among individuals, and 10-30% of variation in height is due to differences in the environments that individuals experience,...
20.6K
Parentral Nutrition: Centeral and Peripheral Parental Nutrition01:27

Parentral Nutrition: Centeral and Peripheral Parental Nutrition

Parenteral Nutrition (PN) delivers essential nutrients directly into the bloodstream, bypassing the digestive system. It is commonly used for individuals with severe digestive disorders or conditions that prevent normal nutrient absorption.
PN can be administered through two primary routes:
1. Central Parenteral Nutrition (CPN):
CPN involves delivering a high concentration of nutrients through a large vein. This is typically achieved using a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) or,...
263