Pregnancy weight gain may affect perinatal outcomes, quality of life during pregnancy, and child-bearing expenses: an observational cohort study

Ching Chung Liang, Min-Ston Chao, Shuenn-Dyh Chang, Sherry Yueh Hsia Chiu*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: We aimed to examine the effect of gestational weight gain (GWG) on perinatal outcomes, quality of life (QoL) during pregnancy, and medical costs of childbirth. Methods: The observational cohort comprised 2210 pregnant women who were classified into three groups based on their pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and GWG in relation to the 2020 Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations. The data were collected on perinatal outcomes, urinary incontinence (UI) during pregnancy, changes in sexual function, and medical costs of hospitalization for delivery. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression models were employed to explore those associations. Results: Only 42.1% of women met the 2020 IOM guidelines. After adjustments for potential confounding factors, women with above-normal GWG had adverse pregnancy outcomes, including a large fetal head circumference and macrosomia, and women with below-normal GWG were more likely to deliver low-birthweight fetuses preterm than women with normal GWG. Only 16.8% of women reported sexual activity during pregnancy. There were not significant differences in sexual activity and satisfaction, or QoL among the three GWG groups. Child-bearing expenses were higher for women with above-normal GWG than for women with normal GWG. Although the child-bearing expenses were higher for the above-normal GWG, the proportion of women with expenses above the median increased according to pre-pregnancy BMI. Conclusion: Our results show that inappropriate GWG is associated with a greater risk of adverse perinatal outcomes and increased medical expenses for delivery. Healthcare providers are advised to counsel women to maintain their GWG following the 2020 IOM recommendations throughout pregnancy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)599-608
Number of pages10
JournalArchives of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Volume304
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 09 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH, DE part of Springer Nature.

Keywords

  • Child-bearing expenses
  • Perinatal outcome
  • Pregnancy weight gain
  • Quality of life
  • Sexual function
  • Urinary incontinence

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