IRISH WOMEN who are obese while pregnant have more complications and their babies do less well than women with normal weight, new research has found.
The study of pregnant women who, despite being obese did not have diabetes, is one of the first to show that simply being overweight has a negative impact on pregnancy outcome.
Dr Fidelma Dunne, professor of medicine, and nursing and medical colleagues from the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG), selected some 1,440 women from along the Atlantic seaboard who delivered babies at five hospitals between June 2007 and June 2008.
The women selected were tested to exclude the presence of diabetes by means of a glucose tolerance test carried out when they were 24-28 weeks pregnant.
The research, which will be presented at the American Diabetes Association meeting in the US in June, recorded the women’s body mass index (BMI) when they first came to the maternity hospital.
It showed that while 45 per cent had a normal BMI (less than 25kg/metre squared), some 35 per cent of the pregnant women were overweight and 20 per cent were obese (BMI greater than 30kg/metre squared).
The number of obese women who required a Caesarean section was almost double the number needed by women with a normal BMI.
Of those who were overweight, some 11 per cent developed pregnancy-related high blood pressure compared with 5 per cent of women with normal weight.
Overweight women were also more likely to suffer a miscarriage.
From the babies’ perspective, overweight women were more likely to give birth to overweight babies, but there was no difference in the rate of stillbirths or of congenital anomalies between overweight and normal weight mothers.
The researchers concluded that “obesity results in greater adverse outcomes for mother and infant”.
Commenting on the results, Dr Dunne said: “Maternal BMI has an impact on the health of a future generation of children. If we are serious about the future health of the nation – in particular with regard to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease – mothers should aim for a normal BMI entering pregnancy.”
Asked about dieting during pregnancy, she said that ideally it was best to lose weight before becoming pregnant. “However, if you are obese starting pregnancy, it would appear safe not to gain much weight in pregnancy.”
The Atlantic–DIP is the latest study funded by the Health Research Board (HRB), which has already reported that almost one in 10 Irish women develop diabetes during pregnancy.
The research, carried out in maternity units in Letterkenny, Sligo, Castlebar, Ballinasloe and Galway, has also revealed that women with pre-existing diabetes are poorly prepared for pregnancy and their babies are more likely to die than those of women without the disease.