Obesity in Pregnancy May Raise Infant Death Risk

Obesity in Pregnancy May Raise Infant Death Risk

Obesity in Pregnancy May Raise Infant Death Risk

Study Shows Increased Risk of Baby Dying if Mom Is Obese in Early Pregnancy

Obesity and Infant Death Risk continued...

“There are likely to be a number of reasons why obesity is associated with fetal and infant death and we don’t yet know the full story,” study co-researcher Judith Rankin, MD, says in a news release.

Because the researchers had no information on the women’s diets, exercise patterns, alcohol use, or caffeine consumption, it was not clear if these lifestyle factors influenced the findings.

The study appears in the April issue of the journal Human Reproduction.

Obesity Prevention Efforts

Creighton University School of Medicine assistant professor of medicine Aimin Chen, MD, PhD, says it is increasingly clear that obese women have an increased risk for poorer pregnancy outcomes, even if they don’t develop the complications most commonly associated with obesity.

“Clinicians tend to focus on women with preeclampsia and gestational diabetes, and women without these complications may not get a lot of attention,” Chen tells WebMD. “But even a small increase in BMI over 30 is associated with risk.”

Both researchers agree, however, that pregnancy is no time to diet.

“Prevention efforts should focus on getting women to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight before they get pregnant,” Chen says.

And Bell adds that even though the risk for fetal and infant death is higher for babies born to obese women, the absolute risk is still quite small.

“Most women will have healthy babies regardless of their weight,” she says. “But achieving a healthy weight before pregnancy should be the goal.”