Weight and pregnancy

doi:10.1136/bmj.39267.518808.80

BMJ 2007;335:169 (28 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.39267.518808.80

Editorials

Weight and pregnancy

Women who maintain a normal healthy weight, before, during,and after pregnancy have better outcomes

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Women of reproductive age are bombarded with messages aboutdiet, weight, and body image. There is growing concern on theone hand about an epidemic of obesity, and on the other abouta culture that promotes "size zero" as desirable, irrespectiveof a woman's natural build. Pregnancy is one of the most nutritionallydemanding periods of a woman's life, with an adequate supplyof nutrients essential to support fetal wellbeing and growth.¹With at least half of all pregnancies unplanned, women needto be aware of the implications of their weight for pregnancy,birth, and the health of their babies. However, the potentialto provide women with conflicting information about weight,weight gain, and weight loss extends to pregnancy and birthoutcomes.

Over one billion adults in the world are now overweight, withmore than 300 million clinically obese.² In the United States,the prevalence of obesity in women aged . . . [Full text of this article]

Jennifer M Walsh, specialist registrar in obstetrics and gynaecology¹, Deirdre J Murphy, professor of obstetrics²

¹ Coombe Women's Hospital, Dublin 8, Republic of Ireland, ² Academic Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Trinity College, University of Dublin and Coombe Women's Hospital, Dublin 8, Republic of Ireland

Deirdre.j.murphy@tcd.ie