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Gestational Weight Gain and Pregnancy Risk Factors among Low Income Women
Author(s) -
Kim Juhee,
Chagarlamudi Hemadhanvi,
Patil Shiv,
Bray Emily
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.789.17
Subject(s) - medicine , breastfeeding , weight gain , overweight , pregnancy , obstetrics , prenatal care , population , obesity , birth weight , demography , pediatrics , environmental health , body weight , sociology , biology , genetics
Objectives This study aims to: 1) examine the prevalence of meeting Institute of Medicine (IOM) weight gain recommendations among a low income population, and 2) examine the effects of prenatal factors, especially pre‐pregnancy weight status and nutrition care visit on gestational weight gain (GWG) among low income pregnant women. Methods An observational prospective study was conducted with a convenient sample of low income (Medicaid‐insured) pregnant women seeking care in prenatal clinics in Eastern North Carolina (n=108, 52.8% were African American). Results The study population exhibits a high prevalence of obesity (24%) and morbid obesity (17%), with an average pre‐pregnancy BMI of 30.1 (SD=9.7). About 60% of participants were receiving care in a high risk clinic. A majority of women exceeded IOM weight gain recommendations (40.7%) while 29.5% fell below recommendations; 63.0% of women used at least one nutrition care visit. While 63% of the overweight group exceeded weight gain recommendations, 72.2% of morbidly obese women fell below the recommended level (p=0.0033). Only 45.4% of participants initiated breastfeeding after birth. Of the mothers who planned to breastfeed, 55.8% successfully initiated breastfeeding. Pre‐pregnancy weight status (P< 0.001) and gestational week at delivery (p=0.0242) were positively associated with GWG (R 2 =0.363). Potential effects of race, age, nutritional guidance, pregnancy risk status, breastfeeding intention, and initiating breastfeeding at delivery on GWG were not detected. Conclusions Low income pregnant women present disproportionately high rates of nutritional risk, inadequate GWG, and low breastfeeding rate. Given these poor nutritional and health outcomes, improved prenatal care focused on nutrition is greatly needed. Support or Funding Information East Carolina University Faculty Start‐Up Funding.