Patterns of Weight Gain among High Risk Pregnant Women

Maternal weight gain during pregnancy is an important indicator of fetal growth and positive fetal outcomes.Excessive and/or inadequate weight gain during pregnancy is associated with a variety of complications during antepartum,intrapartum, and the post partum periods.Optimal weight gain is determined by a woman's weight for height(body mass index [BMI])and her pre-pregnancy nutritional status.Excessive weight gain is associated with maternal and neonatal complications; maternal complications include increased rate of cesarean section, postpartum hemorrhage, hypertension, gestational diabetes, induction of labor, prolonged duration of labor, dysfunctional labor, fetopelvic disproportion, thrombophlebitis, hemorrhage, urinary tract infections, and increase postpartum weight retention.Furthermore, excessive weight is associated with a variety of neonatal complications such as macrosomia (birth weight > 4000g), delivery complications i.e. shoulder dystocia, still birth, jaundice, and respiratory distress syndrome.On the other hand, inadequate weight gain during pregnancy is associated with increased risk of preterm birth (born before 37 weeks of gestation), small for gestational age.