Early Weight Gain during Pregnancy: Which Women are the Most Affected?

Abstract

Maternal weight gain during pregnancy is a good prediction tool in short and long term health of pregnant women and their children. To study the effect of early weight gain of pregnant women until the end of the 2^nd trimester of pregnancy, depending on their pre-pregnancy body mass index. 116 healthy pregnant women were followed until the 2^nd trimester of pregnancy, their weight and height before pregnancy, as well as the current weight at the end of the 1^st and 2^nd trimesters were collected. Data included age, parity, eating habits and physical activity level. Statistics were performed using the Statview software. The mean pre-pregnancy BMI was 27 ± 5.27 kg/m². Weight gain in the 2^nd trimester is 6.33 ± 4.84 kg. It decreases with the increasing age of the mother (25% of women between 20 and 24.9 years vs 12.5% of more than 35). Also, it decreases with the increasing number of children (62.5% in nulliparous vs 25% in multiparous). Breakfast is skipped by 64.5 % of overweight pregnant women in the 1st trimester and 90 % in the 2^nd one. 80.17% and 69.83% of pregnant women do not practice any physical activity. Overweight and obese pregnant women before pregnancy do not take enough weight during pregnancy. Prospects will to analyze behaviors related to health and social status.