engleski

Obesity and pregnancy complications

Pregnancy is a very delicate period in every woman’s life, and can be considered as a critical window in child’s growth and development. Several characteristics of a woman prior or in early pregnancy, as well as external, environmental factors affect pregnancy outcomes. External factors account for 30% of the pregnancy outcome and infant's birth weight, and mother’s diet during pregnancy is one of the most important ones. Also, advanced maternal age (35 years and older), pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), and excessive weight gain during pregnancy are all considered as important risk factors for pregnancy complications and adverse outcomes. Today pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity is considered as one of the most common high-risk obstetric situations, and Croatia is not an exception. In Croatia, 16.7% of women enter pregnancy with overweight BMI, and additional 10.3% with obese BMI. Besides that, 10.4% of the population is 35 years or older, and increases day-by-day. Extensive number of studies has shown a correlation between overweight/obese BMI with an increased risk of foetal macrosomia and medical complications, including pregnancy-induced hypertension, gestational diabetes (GDM), and caesarean delivery. On the other hand, for women entering pregnancy with a normal BMI the higher concern is inadequate weight gain during pregnancy that shows a significant association with adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Excessive weight gain has 40.5% of pregnant women in Croatia. Additionally, excessive weight gain was found to correlate with a higher probability of weight retention, especially in consecutive pregnancies which creates a spiral of obesity-related-lifelong-complications. Diet during pregnancy should complement pregnancy, especially since studies found that for example, a diet with <30% fat and >50% carbohydrate, together with the increase in energy intake during pregnancy will reduce their risk of both impaired glucose tolerance and GDM. In order to prevent second generation obesity cases and obesity-related complications later in life of the children, more intensive preventative actions are needed to reverse the current negative trend in reproductive health and demographic indicators.

obesity ; pregnancy complications ; pregnancy outcomes ; diet ; epigenetics ; gestational diabetes ; gestosis

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