Abstract:
Background:
The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity among women of childbearing years have
increased dramatically in the past decades. Growing evidence has highlighted the role of maternal
nutritional status on fetal development, birth outcomes and child health.Objective:
This study aimed to describe the influence of pre-pregnant BMI & gestational weight gain on
pregnancy outcomes in terms of babies’ birth weight among mothers admitted for delivery in
Teaching Hospital Batticaloa.Methodology:
This was a cross sectional descriptive study among pregnant mothers in Teaching Hospital
Batticaloa. A total of 217 pregnant women were recruited during their first trimester from obstetric
wards. During the first visit, data collection included pre-pregnancy weight, socio demographic
and lifestyle characteristics using an interviewer administered questionnaire. The weight before
delivery and neonatal outcomes were extracted from the medical records. GWG was calculated as
the difference between weight before delivery and pre-pregnancy weight and was classified into
insufficient, adequate, and excessive, as per the IOM criteria.Results:
Overall, 46.1% of women had a normal pre-pregnancy BMI. While 23.0%, 19.8% and 11.1% were
under underweight, overweight and obese categories respectively. And 61.8% of women had
insufficient GWG, while 25.3% and 12.9% of women had adequate and excessive GWG,
respectively. In total babies 82.5% of infants had a weight adequate-for-gestational age (AGA),
17.1% were small for gestational age (SGA) and 0.5% were large for gestational age (LGA).Conclusion:
There is significant influence of maternal prepregnant BMI on babies’ birth weight. Therefore the
significant prevalence of pre-pregnancy underweight among participants underscores the need for
specific intervention programs to promote healthy body weight in women of childbearing age, and
to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes.
