Maternal Body Mass Index and Pregnancy Outcome

Background: Proportion of obese pregnant women is on the rise. Obesity is known to act as a risk factor for various adverse maternal and fetal outcomes; notably hypertension, diabetes, increased risk of operational delivery and macrosomic babies. This study focuses on selected outcomes among various BMI groups of pregnant mothers. Objectives: (1) To find the distribution of pregnant females by BMI. (2) To study the selected outcomes among various BMI groups. (3) To determine the role of obesity in selected maternal and fetal outcomes of pregnancy. Material and Methods: Cross sectional record based study was performed on women who had already delivered. BMI was calculated by applying standard formula using weight and height from the booking visit data. SPSS 17 was used for analysis of data. After grouping into 3 categories of Normal, Overweight and Obese selected outcome measures were studied and role of obesity was determined. Results: BMI showed an increase with increase in age and parity. Overall, a high percentage (37.5%) of mothers was found to be obese. Impaired fasting glucose was significantly more (55.9%) in obese group. Of the total women who had hypertensive disorders, increased rate of operative delivery, and higher birth weight 75%, 48.5% and 100% respectively were obese women Significant difference in mean age, parity, birth weight and impaired fasting was found to occur between the obese and other groups. Conclusion: The problem of obese women entering into pregnancy needs to be addressed with urgency. Complications like diabetes, and operative delivery can be minimized if proper pre-pregnancy weight management is offered to the women.