The effect of maternal weight gain during pregnancy on the child growth until the age of 6 months: A retrospective cohort study

Back ground Aim: Recently, early growth patterns have been associated with metabolic and cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. Early child development depends on women’s health. Lack of maternal health during pregnancy can lead to death, disease, and disability in the newborn baby. This research was conducted to study the effect of maternal weight gain during pregnancy on the children’s growth until 6 months of age. Methods Materials: This retrospective cohort study was conducted on a sample of 257 mother/child pairs using the household records of the urbane health center of Amirieh in Shahriar County. Health care records of pregnant women were collected, and their children’s weight was measured at birth and 6 months of age. Multiple linear regressions were used to estimate the adjusted association between maternal and infant weight gain from birth to 6 months of life. Results: According to multiple analysis, there was no statistically significant and clinically important association between the infant weight gain and gestational weight gain [b = 3.8; 95% confidence interval (CI): −20.8, 28.5; P = 0.076]. Gestational weight gain, however, showed a significant association with birth weight (b = 16.34; 95% CI: 3.4, 29.3; P = 0.014). Conclusion: In this study, there was no association between gestational weight gain and infant weight gain from birth to 6 months. It seems that further studies with larger sample sizes and variables can help us to understand the maternal factors affecting early infant growth.