Preventing Excessive Gestational Weight Gain and Postpartum Weight Retention

摘要

Pregnancy and the postpartum period are unique opportunities to promote healthy lifestyle choices including a healthy diet and regular exercise. This is especially important for those who are overweight or obese. Women are weighed at their first antenatal visit and body mass index (BMI) calculated, but not all hospitals routinely weigh women throughout pregnancy. A qualitative Dublin study examined experiences of routine weighing during antenatal care. This study found that women expected to be weighed during pregnancy and postpartum. The benefits of this included providing reassurance and minimising postpartum weight retention. Furthermore, women were eager to receive more information about healthy lifestyle interventions and gestational weight gain (GWG) from healthcare professionalsSUP1/SUP. It has been shown that women with a BMI ≥ 25kg/mSUP2 /SUPmake food choices and physical activity behavioural choices based on a number of factors including social support, food modelling, social facilitation and obesogenic environment. They will also make positive choices in an effort to achieve a good pregnancy outcomeSUP2/SUP. Gestational weight gain guidelines were published by the Institute of Medicine in 2009. These recommendations are based on BMI at the first antenatal visit. They suggest lower GWG for women who are overweight and obese compared with those with a normal BMI prior to pregnancy. However, it has been shown that obese women are more likely to exceed their recommended GWG of 5-9kg compared with those with a normal BMI, whose recommended GWG is 12.5-18kgSUP3/SUP. A systematic review showed that low educational attainment was also likely to be associated with women gaining outside the Institute of Medicine recommendations for GWG. Thus it was suggested that healthcare providers should provide additional support to these pregnant women to reduce the gap in health inequalities between those of high and low socioeconomic statusSUP4/SUP.