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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Danielle Huff, RD, CNSD, LDN¹, Shortie McKinney, PhD, RD, FADA¹, Iliana Kohler, PhD², and Jennifer Culhane, PhD, MPH³. (1) Drexel University Nutrition Center, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, 215-895-2419, dch33@drexel.edu, (2) Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, (3) Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Drexel University College of Medicine, New College Building, 245 N. 15th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102

Low maternal gestational weight gain is associated with an increased risk of delivering a growth-retarded infant, while high maternal gestational weight gain is associated with an increased risk of labor and delivery complications as well as postpartum weight retention. For these reasons, maternal gestational weight gain recommendations based on pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) were released by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 1990. The following analysis uses pooled data from the 1998, 1999, and 2000 NCHS linked birth cohort data to compare maternal gestational weight gain by week of delivery to the IOM's maternal gestational weight gain recommendations. The total number of live, singleton births reported in the United States from 1998-2000 was 11,372,660. Of these, birth certificates missing data for maternal race (n=132,514) and gestational weight gain (n=2,186,926) were excluded, such that the preliminary analysis included 9,053,220 live, singleton births. Gestational weight gain at each week of delivery (20-44 weeks) was plotted by race (Non-Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and Non-Hispanic Other) and parity (1 and 2+). Preliminary analysis reveals that regardless of race and parity, the mean gestational weight gain at each week of delivery is greater than the IOM's high pre-pregnancy BMI weight gain recommendations. Also, the mean gestational weight gain among primiparous women, regardless of race, is greater than the IOM's normal pre-pregnancy BMI weight gain recommendations. Future plans include the use of logistic regression analysis to determine socio-demographic and behavioral factors associated with low and high maternal gestational weight gains.

Learning Objectives:

• Define the Institute of Medicine's gestational weight gain guidelines for each pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) category.
• Cite two risks to the mother or the fetus associated with low and high maternal gestational weight gain.
• List socio-demographic and/or behavioral factors associated with low and high maternal gestational weight gain.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered