Standard Pregnancy Weight-Gain Guidelines Don’t Apply to Obese Women: New Study | DC Metro Area Medical Malpractice Law Blo

Very obese women should work to lose weight and slightly obese women should gain only a little weight during their pregnancies, according to new research published in Obstetrics & Gynecology, the official journal of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

The findings contradict Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines issued in 1990, which recommend that women gain 15 pounds during pregnancy, but fail to address the issue of obesity.  Authors of the present study have remarked that obesity was simply not a pressing public health concern at the time those recommendations were issued, and that the guidelines were based on medical opinion, rather than hard scientific evidence.

The study found that obese women who gain fewer than the recommended 15 pounds are less likely to develop preeclampsia, less likely to require a caesarian delivery, and more likely to give birth to a baby of normal birth weight.

Previously on the D.C. Metro Area Medical Malpractice Law Blog, we have posted articles related to:

• A study showing that pre-pregnancy obesity contributes to birth defect risk
• A.C.O.G. urges against depression treatment with Paxil during pregnancy
• Research indicating many new mothers feel unprepared upon hospital discharge

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