A systematic review in 2008 of outcomes of gestational weight gain (GWG) found strong evidence in support of an association between GWG and birth weight (BW). 1 Low GWG was associated with lower BWs across all prepregnancy weight groups, whereas high GWG resulting in higher BW appears to be limited to underweight and normal weight women. This is potentially important because BW is an important determinant of not only neonatal outcome, but also lifelong health. 2-5 This review is further supported by a recent large population-based cohort study which examined birth records between 1989 and 2003 of 513,501 women and their 1,164,750 offspring. 6 GWG was based on the physicianâ s recording of self-reported maternal weight and categorised into groups of 2 lbs weight gain. Infants of mothers who gained 20-22 kgs and >24 lbs weighed roughly 100 g and 150 g more, respectively, than the women who gained 8-10 lbs. The women with higher GWG were also twice as likely to deliver a baby weighing >4 kg. The authors concluded that in view of the association between GWG and increased BW, obesity prevention efforts targeted at women during pregnancy might be beneficial for offspring. 6 However, epidemiological associations between GWG and BW may not be causal.

Reproduced with permission from the Irish Medical Journal.