Yo-yo weight loss puts babies at risk
Friday July 27 2007
MOTHERS who gain or lose lots of weight between pregnancies could be putting their baby at risk, Irish medical experts warned yesterday.
The trend for new mothers to lose lots of weight could be detrimental to their infant's health, they claimed.
But women who pile on the pounds after giving birth also put their next child at risk. Effects can include premature birth, greater risk of stillbirth and high blood pressure.
Jennifer Walsh, a specialist registrar in obstetrics and gynaecology at Coombe Women's Hospital in Dublin, and Deirdre Murphy, professor of obstetrics at Trinity College, warn - in the 'British Medical Journal' (BMJ) - that the current obsession with weight extends into pregnancy.
"Women of reproductive age are bombarded with messages about diet, and body image," they said.
"There is growing concern on the one hand about an epidemic of obesity, and on the other about a culture that promotes 'size zero' as desirable, irrespective of a woman's natural build.
Demanding
"Pregnancy is one of the most nutritionally demanding periods of a woman's life, with an adequate supply of nutrients essential to support foetal wellbeing and growth.
"With at least half of all pregnancies unplanned, women need to be aware of the implications of their weight for pregnancy, birth, and the health of their babies."
The authors cited two studies which show the effects of weight gain and weight loss.
The first, a Swedish study, involved following 207,534 women from 1992 to 2001 found that increasing BMI by more than three BMI units "significantly increased the rate of term stillbirth, independent of obesity related diseases".
A second study, published last year in the 'American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology', found women whose BMI fell by five or more units between pregnancies had a higher risk of premature birth than those whose weight stayed stable or increased.
The effect was heightened among women who had already experienced one premature birth.
