Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2018 Feb 1;172(2):136-142.
doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.4016.

Association of Timing of Weight Gain in Pregnancy With Infant Birth Weight

Ravi Retnakaran  1   2   3 , Shi Wu Wen  4   5   6   7 , Hongzhuan Tan  7 , Shujin Zhou  8 , Chang Ye  1 , Minxue Shen  4   5   6   7 , Graeme N Smith  9 , Mark C Walker  4   5   6
Affiliations
Observational Study

Association of Timing of Weight Gain in Pregnancy With Infant Birth Weight

Ravi Retnakaran et al. JAMA Pediatr. .

Abstract

Importance: Gestational weight gain is a determinant of infant birth weight, but it is unclear whether its timing in pregnancy may hold implications in this regard. Previous studies have yielded conflicting findings on the association of maternal weight gain in early pregnancy with birth weight. However, as these studies have typically recruited women during the first trimester, they are inherently limited by a reliance on self-reported pregravid weight.

Objective: To evaluate the associations of directly measured maternal pregravid weight and the timing of subsequent weight gain across pregnancy with infant birth weight.

Design, setting, and participants: In this prospective, preconception, observational cohort study, 1164 newly married women in Liuyang, China, underwent pregravid evaluation at a median of 19.9 weeks before a singleton pregnancy during which they underwent serial weight measurements. The study was conducted from February 1, 2009, to November 4, 2015. Data analysis was performed between September 1, 2016, and May 6, 2017.

Exposure: Maternal weight gain was calculated for the following 10 gestational intervals: from pregravid to less than 14, 14 to 18, 19 to 23, 24 to 28, 29 to 30, 31 to 32, 33 to 34, 35 to 36, 37 to 38, and 39 to 40 weeks.

Main outcomes and measures: Associations of pregravid weight and weight gain within each of the 10 gestational intervals with the outcome of infant birth weight.

Results: The mean (SD) age of the 1164 women included in the study was 25.3 (3.1) years. Pregravid weight was consistently associated with infant birth weight. However, among the 10 gestational intervals, only weight gain from pregravid to 14 weeks and from 14 to 18 weeks was associated with birth weight. Birth weight increased by 13.6 g/kg (95% CI, 3.2-24.1 g/kg) of maternal weight gain from pregravid to 14 weeks and by 26.1 g/kg (95% CI, 3.8-48.4 g/kg) of maternal weight gain from 14 to 18 weeks.

Conclusion and relevance: Maternal weight only in the first half of gestation is a determinant of infant birth weight. Before pregnancy and early gestation may be a critical window for intervention to affect subsequent birth weight.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.

Figures

Figure.
Figure.. Maternal Weight Associated With Weeks’ Gestation in Pregnancies
Stratified according to tertiles of infant birth weight.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Caughey AB. Gestational weight gain and outcomes for mothers and infants. JAMA. 2017;317(21):2175-2176. - PubMed
    1. Goldstein RF, Abell SK, Ranasinha S, et al. . Association of gestational weight gain with maternal and infant outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2017;317(21):2207-2225. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cheikh Ismail L, Bishop DC, Pang R, et al. . Gestational weight gain standards based on women enrolled in the Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project. BMJ. 2016;352:i555. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yan J. Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, gestational weight gain, and infant birth weight. Econ Hum Biol. 2015;18:1-12. - PubMed
    1. Fraser A, Tilling K, Macdonald-Wallis C, et al. . Associations of gestational weight gain with maternal body mass index, waist circumference, and blood pressure measured 16 y after pregnancy. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011;93(6):1285-1292. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types