The impact of inadequate gestational weight gain in obese diabetic women

Objective:to determine the effect of inadequate gestational weight gain (gwg) on neonatal birth weight in diabetic obese women.study design:retrospective cohort study of women with an initial body mass index (bmi) ⩾30 kg m−2 and gestational or type 2 diabetes was conducted. gwg was stratified: inadequate (<11 lbs), adequate (11 to 20 lbs) or excessive (>20 lbs). the primary outcome was birth weight. secondary outcomes included hypertensive disorders, gestational age at delivery, mode of delivery and apgar scores.result:a total of 211 obese diabetic women were identified. of those, 37% had inadequate gwg, 25% had adequate gwg and 38% had excessive gwg. women with inadequate gwg had lower mean birth weights (p=0.048), as well as lower rates of cesarean delivery (p=0.017) and lower rates of pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders (p=0.026) compared with those with adequate and excessive gwg.conclusion:inadequate gwg was associated lower mean birth weights, lower rates of cesarean delivery and lower rates of pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders.