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
. 2023 Apr;27(4):641-649.
doi: 10.1007/s10995-023-03613-8. Epub 2023 Feb 18.

Childhood Adversity Predicts Maternal Pre-Pregnancy BMI but not Gestational Weight Gain

Savannah A Girod  1 , Cheryl Buehler  2 , Lauren G Bailes  3 , Esther M Leerkes  2 , Laurie Wideman  2 , Lenka H Shriver  2
Affiliations

Childhood Adversity Predicts Maternal Pre-Pregnancy BMI but not Gestational Weight Gain

Savannah A Girod et al. Matern Child Health J. 2023 Apr.

Abstract

Introduction: Obesity and excessive weight gain during pregnancy have lasting implications for both women and infant health. Adverse childhood experiences and stressful life events have been associated with pre-pregnancy obesity and excessive gestational weight gain. However, the effect of each has been examined independently and scant work has investigated the effects of both in the same analysis. The current study examined the unique and conjoint effects of adverse childhood experiences and recent stressful life events on women's pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain.

Methods: A racially and socioeconomically diverse sample of 176 pregnant women completed questionnaires and anthropometric measurements during the third trimester and two months postpartum.

Results: Maternal adverse childhood experiences were uniquely associated with pre-pregnancy BMI (β = 0.21, p = .02), but not gestational weight gain. Recent stressful life events did not uniquely predict pre-pregnancy BMI or gestational weight gain, nor did it explain the association between adverse childhood experiences and pre-pregnancy BMI. Adverse childhood experiences and recent stressful life events did not interact to predict either of the women's weight outcomes.

Discussion: Adverse childhood experiences have lasting unique effects on women's pre-pregnancy BMI. Obesity is related to several perinatal health issues for the mother and child, thus understanding the effects of childhood adversity on women's weight outcomes is critical. Routine screening for ACEs among women of childbearing age and pregnant women, paired with referrals and educational resources, can mitigate the deleterious effects of childhood adversity on women and infant health.

Keywords: ACEs; Life events; Obesity; Pregnancy; Weight gain.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conceptual Models Predicting Pre-pregnancy BMI and Gestational Weight Gain
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Bergman K, Sarkar P, O’Connor TG, Modi N, & Glover V (2007). Maternal stress during pregnancy predicts cognitive ability and fearfulness in infancy. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 46, 1454–1463. - PubMed
    1. Björntorp P, & Rosmond R (2000). Obesity and cortisol. Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.), 16, 924–936. - PubMed
    1. Branum AM, Sharma AJ, & Deputy NP (2016). Gestational Weight Gain Among Women with Full-Term, Singleton Births, Compared with Recommendations-48 States and the District of Columbia, 2015. - PubMed
    1. Buehler C, Girod SA, Leerkes EM, Bailes L, Shriver LH, & Wideman L (2022). Women’s social well-being during pregnancy: Adverse childhood experiences and recent life events. Women’s Health Reports, 3(1), 582–592. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Burns ER, Farr SL, & Howards PP (2015). Stressful life events experienced by women in the year before their infants’ births—United States, 2000–2010. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 64, 247. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources