Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Maternal weight change before pregnancy in relation to birthweight and risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes

  • PERINATAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
  • Published:
European Journal of Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Maternal weight change before pregnancy can be considered as an indicator of maternal energy balance and nutritional status before conception, and may be involved in early life programming. We aimed to investigate the association of maternal Weight Change Before Pregnancy (WCBP) with fetal growth and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Data are from the French EDEN mother–child cohort where 1,756 mother–child pairs had information on mother’s weight at 20 years, weight just before pregnancy, fetal anthropometry at second and third trimesters, infant’s birthweight and pregnancy complications. The average annual WCBP between 20 years and start of pregnancy (in kg/year) was categorized as: “Weight Loss” (n = 320), “Moderate weight gain” (n = 721) and “High weight gain” (n = 715). The associations of WCBP with fetal and newborn characteristics and with adverse pregnancy outcomes were analyzed, adjusting for maternal and pregnancy characteristics, including the mother’s prepregnancy BMI. Interactions between WCBP and prepregnancy BMI were tested. Birthweight and estimated fetal weight in the third trimester increased significantly with increasing WCBP in mothers with BMI <25 kg/m2. In these mothers, weight loss before pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of newborns small for gestational age (SGA). Whatever the prepregnancy BMI, WCBP was positively associated with a maternal risk of gestational diabetes and hypertension. The ponderal history of mothers before pregnancy can impact on fetal growth and on pregnancy outcomes such as gestational diabetes or hypertension. Our analysis is the first to report that in non-overweight women, those who lost weight before pregnancy are at higher risk of having SGA newborns.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Hull HR, Dinger MK, Knehans AW, Thompson DM, Fields DA. Impact of maternal body mass index on neonate birthweight and body composition. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2008;198(4):416, e1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Mohanty C, Prasad R, Srikanth Reddy A, Ghosh JK, Singh TB, Das BK. Maternal anthropometry as predictors of low birth weight. J Trop Pediatr. 2006;52(1):24–9.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Pickett KE, Abrams B, Selvin S. Maternal height, pregnancy weight gain, and birthweight. Am J Hum Biol. 2000;12(5):682–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Rondo PH, Tomkins A. Maternal overweight/obesity and birthweight of newborn babies. J Trop Pediatr. 2005;51(2):125–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Cnattingius S, Bergstrom R, Lipworth L, Kramer MS. Prepregnancy weight and the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. N Engl J Med. 1998;338(3):147–52.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Sahu MT, Agarwal A, Das V, Pandey A. Impact of maternal body mass index on obstetric outcome. J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2007;33(5):655–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Baeten JM, Bukusi EA, Lambe M. Pregnancy complications and outcomes among overweight and obese nulliparous women. Am J Public Health. 2001;91(3):436–40.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Rumball CW, Bloomfield FH, Oliver MH, Harding JE. Different periods of periconceptional undernutrition have different effects on growth, metabolic and endocrine status in fetal sheep. Pediatr Res. 2009;66(6):605–13.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Villamor E, Cnattingius S. Interpregnancy weight change and risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes: a population-based study. Lancet. 2006;368(9542):1164–70.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Hedderson MM, Williams MA, Holt VL, Weiss NS, Ferrara A. Body mass index and weight gain prior to pregnancy and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2008;198(4):409, e1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Rudra CB, Sorensen TK, Leisenring WM, Dashow E, Williams MA. Weight characteristics and height in relation to risk of gestational diabetes mellitus. Am J Epidemiol. 2007;165(3):302–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Varvarigou AA. Intrauterine growth restriction as a potential risk factor for disease onset in adulthood. J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2010;23(3):215–24.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Drouillet P, Forhan A, De Lauzon-Guillain B, et al. Maternal fatty acid intake and fetal growth: evidence for an association in overweight women. The ‘EDEN mother-child’ cohort (study of pre- and early postnatal determinants of the child’s development and health). Br J Nutr. 2008;101(4):1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Slama R, Thiebaugeorges O, Goua V, et al. Maternal personal exposure to airborne benzene and intrauterine growth. Environ Health Perspect. 2009;117(8):1313–21.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Mamelle N, Munoz F, Grandjean H. Fetal growth from the AUDIPOG study. I. Establishment of reference curves. J Gynecol Obstet Biol Reprod (Paris). 1996;25(1):61–70.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Hadlock FP, Harrist RB, Sharman RS, Deter RL, Park SK. Estimation of fetal weight with the use of head, body, and femur measurements—a prospective study. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1985;151(3):333–7.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Picone O, Servely JL, Chavatte-Palmer P. Developmental origin of human adult disease: which importance for obstetrical practice? J Gynecol Obstet Biol Reprod (Paris). 2007;36(4):338–43.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Glazer NL, Hendrickson AF, Schellenbaum GD, Mueller BA. Weight change and the risk of gestational diabetes in obese women. Epidemiology. 2004;15(6):733–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Huang Z, Willett WC, Manson JE, et al. Body weight, weight change, and risk for hypertension in women. Ann Intern Med. 1998;128(2):81–8.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Kannel WB, Garrison RJ, Dannenberg AL. Secular blood pressure trends in normotensive persons: the Framingham study. Am Heart J. 1993;125(4):1154–8.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Solomon CG, Willett WC, Carey VJ, et al. A prospective study of pregravid determinants of gestational diabetes mellitus. Jama. 1997;278(13):1078–83.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Drouillet P, Kaminski M, De Lauzon-Guillain B, et al. Association between maternal seafood consumption before pregnancy and fetal growth: evidence for an association in overweight women. The EDEN mother-child cohort. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2009;23(1):76–86.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Jalkanen L, Tuomilehto J, Tanskanen A, Puska P. Accuracy of self-reported body weight compared to measured body weight. A population survey. Scand J Soc Med. 1987;15(3):191–8.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Bostrom G, Diderichsen F. Socioeconomic differentials in misclassification of height, weight and body mass index based on questionnaire data. Int J Epidemiol. 1997;26(4):860–6.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Brunner Huber LR. Validity of self-reported height and weight in women of reproductive age. Matern Child Health J. 2007;11(2):137–44.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The EDEN Study is funded by grants from the Foundation for Medical Research, the French Ministry of Research: the Institut Fédératif de Recherche program, the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale Human Nutrition National Research Program, and the Diabetes National Research Program (via a collaboration with the French Association for Diabetes Research), the French Ministry of Health Perinatality Program, the French Agency for Environment Security, the French National Institute for Population Health Surveillance, the Paris–Sud University, the French National Institute for Health Education, Nestlé, the National Education Health Insurance (MGEN), the French Speaking Association for the Study of Diabetes and Metabolism, the National Agency for Research (nonthematic program), and the National Institute for Research in Public Health (TGIR health cohort 2008 program). We thank Beverley Balkau who reviewed the manuscript for content and language.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSERM, Unit 1018, Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health (CESP), Team 10 “Epidemiology of Obesity, Diabetes and Renal Disease Over the Life Course”, 16 Avenue Paul Vaillant Couturier, 94807, Villejuif cedex, France

    Ibrahima Diouf, Marie Aline Charles, Anne Forhan & Barbara Heude

  2. Faculty of Medicine, University of Paris-Sud, 94276, Kremlin-Bicêtre, France

    Ibrahima Diouf, Marie Aline Charles & Barbara Heude

  3. Maternity of Nancy University Hospital, Nancy, France

    Olivier Thiebaugeorges

  4. INSERM, UMRS 953, Epidemiological Research on Perinatal Health and Women’s and Children’s Health, 94807, Villejuif, France

    Monique Kaminski

  5. UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMRS 953, 75005, Paris, France

    Monique Kaminski

Authors
  1. Ibrahima Diouf
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marie Aline Charles
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Olivier Thiebaugeorges
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Anne Forhan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Monique Kaminski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Barbara Heude
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Consortia

The EDEN Mother–Child Cohort Study Group

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ibrahima Diouf.

Additional information

Constitution of the EDEN Mother–child cohort study group: MA Charles, M de Agostini, A Forhan, B Heude, P Ducimetière, M Kaminski, MJ Saurel-Cubizolles, P Dargent, X Fritel, B Larroque, N Lelong, L Marchand, C Nabet, I Annesi-Maesano, R Slama, V Goua, G Magnin, R Hankard, O Thiebaugeorges, M Schweitzer, B Foliguet, N Job-Spira.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Diouf, I., Charles, M.A., Thiebaugeorges, O. et al. Maternal weight change before pregnancy in relation to birthweight and risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Eur J Epidemiol 26, 789–796 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-011-9599-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-011-9599-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation