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Pregnancy Weight Gain by Gestational Age in Women with Uncomplicated Dichorionic Twin Pregnancies
Author(s) -
Hutcheon Jennifer A.,
Platt Robert W.,
Abrams Barbara,
Braxter Betty J.,
Eckhardt Cara L.,
Himes Katherine P.,
Bodnar Lisa M.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
paediatric and perinatal epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.667
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3016
pISSN - 0269-5022
DOI - 10.1111/ppe.12446
Subject(s) - medicine , weight gain , obstetrics , overweight , pregnancy , percentile , gestational age , birth weight , twin pregnancy , gestation , underweight , interquartile range , singleton , body mass index , body weight , statistics , mathematics , biology , genetics
Background Twin pregnancies are at increased risk for adverse outcomes and are associated with greater gestational weight gain compared to singleton pregnancies. Studies that disentangle the relationship between gestational duration, weight gain and adverse outcomes are needed to inform weight gain guidelines. We created charts of the mean, standard deviation and select percentiles of maternal weight gain‐for‐gestational age in twin pregnancies and compared them to singleton curves. Methods We abstracted serial prenatal weight measurements of women delivering uncomplicated twin pregnancies at Magee‐Womens Hospital (Pittsburgh, PA , 1998–2013) and merged them with the hospital's perinatal database. Hierarchical linear regression was used to express pregnancy weight gain as a smoothed function of gestational age according to pre‐pregnancy BMI category. Charts of week‐ and day‐specific values for the mean, standard deviation, and percentiles of maternal weight gain were created. Results Prenatal weight measurements (median: 11 [interquartile range: 9, 13] per woman) were available for 1109 women (573 normal weight, 287 overweight, and 249 obese). The slope of weight gain was most pronounced in normal weight women and flattened with increasing pre‐pregnancy BMI (e.g. 50th percentiles of 6.8, 5.7, and 3.6 kg at 20 weeks and 19.8, 18.1, and 14.4 at 37 weeks in normal weight, overweight, and obese women, respectively). Weight gain patterns in twins diverged from singletons after 17–19 weeks. Conclusions Our charts provide a tool for the classification of maternal weight gain in twin pregnancies. Future work is needed to identify the range of weight gain associated with optimal pregnancy health outcomes.