Introduction

An inadequate pregestational Body Mass Index (BMI) leads to maternal/fetal risks.

Objectives

To identify the pregestational BMI to link it to the sociodemographic and obstetrical data of postpartum patients as well as to identify how the pregestational BMI and weight gain during pregnancy can be related to the characteristics of newborns.

Materials and Methods

A quantitative, descriptive study was conducted in a referral hospital for 187 pairs. The data were collected from the maternity notes and the Certificates of Live Birth. Due to the absence of Gaussian distribution, continuous variables were compared using non-parametric tests (Mann-Whitney or Kruskal-Wallis). Paired samples were compared using the Wilcoxon test for paired data. Fisher’s exact test or Pearson’s chi-square test were used for comparing categorical variables.

Results

Pregestational BMI ranged from 16 to 53kg/m 2, mean 25.0 ±5.9kg/m 2; 41.2% overweight and obese women; the average of pregestational weight gain was 11Kg ±30Kg; mean age was 26 years. A progressive weight gain was observed in relation to the increase in age (P=0.009); obese women were more likely to be hospitalized for Gestational Hypertensive Syndrome (P=0.003) and Chronic Hypertension (P=0.026); among women with a high BMI, 24.0% were primiparous while 23.5% were multiparous; the average weight of newborns was 3146.8g ±559.7g. Newborn weight of obese women was higher (P=0.0034). A positive correlation was observed between maternal pregestational BMI and the newborn weight at birth (rho–0.219; P=0.003).

Discussion and Conclusions

The assessment of the nutritional status should be made during the planning stage of gestation in order to prevent future complications.

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