engleski

Pregnancy weight gain and social factors in relation to infant birth weight and growth

Great pregnancy weight gain is associated with increased risk of complications in pregnancy, infant macrosomia, cesarean delivery, as well as weight retention in post-pregnancy period. In this work weight gain during pregnancy and infant birth weight and development in rural areas in Eastern Croatia were researched. 234 pregnant women, who participated in this study, were categorized according to their pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), and the weight gain range recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Additionally, the women were grouped on the basis of their education and working status, parity and smoking habits. Mean pregnancy weight gain for the group was 14.8 &#61617; 3.1 kg, and mean infant birth weight was 3346 &#61617; 467 g. More than 40% of pregnant women gained weight above the IOM upper cut-offs. Mothers with excessive weight gain were more likely to have high birth weight infants (r=0.247 ; p<0.001). More than 80% of infants with macrosomia were from mothers who exceeded recommended weight gain. Infant birth weights were correlated to infant weight after 6 and 12 months, respectively (r=0.466 and 0.392 ; p&#61500; 0.001). On the other hand, infant increment weight after 6 and 12 months was not correlated to infant birth weight, neither to pregnancy weight gain. In conclusion, the results indicate that a considerable portion of women had pregnancy weight gain higher than recommended by the IOM, but it did not influenced on infants&#8217; growth. These finding suggests that, in terms of pregnancy weight gain, prenatal care in rural areas in Eastern Croatia should be improved.

pregnancy weight gain; infant birth weight; infant development

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