Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #113639

Barbara K. Hackley, MS, CNM¹, Roy Grant², Diane Berry, PhD, C-ANP³, Gail D.'Eramo Melkus, EdD, C-ANP³, and Wendy Wilcox, MD⁴. (1) South Bronx Health Center for Children and Families, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 871 Prospect Avenue, Bronx, NY 10459, 718-991-0605, bhackley@montefiore.org, (2) The Children's Health Fund, 317 East 64th Street, New York, NY 10021, (3) Yale School of Nursing, Yale University, 100 Church Street South, P.O. Box 9740, New Haven, CT 06536, (4) Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461

Obesity rates are increasing disproportionately among young women of reproductive age, particularly race-ethnic minority women who are at higher risk for type 2 diabetes and related cardiovascular disease. Major contributors to obesity for reproductive-aged women include excessive weight gain in pregnancy and failure to lose weight postpartum. Culturally-appropriate prenatal care and postpartum support may help prevent the development, or worsening, of obesity in women. However, few effective models exist. As a preliminary step to the development of an intervention, we completed a chart review of 200 prenatal care patients (76% Hispanic, 23% Black, 1% other) at the Montefiore Medical Center South Bronx Health Center. This is one of only a few studies to document the prenatal weight gain and postpartum weight loss patterns of Hispanic women. Data show that baseline BMI differed significantly between Black (mean=29) and Hispanic (mean=26) women (p<0.05). Half (51%) of women gained more weight during pregnancy than recommended by the Institute of Medicine guidelines. Less acculturated Hispanic women showed a trend toward lower weight gain (p=0.068) than more acculturated Hispanic or Black women. Among patients for whom data were available, 72% were five or more pounds heavier at 6 to 12 months postpartum compared to their baseline weight (p<0.01). Mean postpartum weight gain was 18.9 pounds (range, 5 to 70 pounds). Higher baseline BMI was significantly associated with greater postpartum weight gain (p<0.05). This presentation will review the results of this study and discuss implications for the development of future interventions, including targeting highest risk populations.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this presentation, participants will

• Better understand race-ethnic disparities in health risk associated with excessive weight gain and failure to lose weight postpartum for Hispanic and Black women.
• Better understand differences among Hispanic women based on degree of acculturation (indicated by languge preference as a proxy).
• Have additional information that may be useful in planning innovative community-based prenatal care programs, including targeting high risk populations.

Keywords: Obesity, Prenatal Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.