Date of Publication
2020
Faculty Mentor
Victoria C. Hart Ph.D.
Abstract
Objective: To examine the association of maternal obesity, race/ethnicity, and prenatal care on high gestational weight gain (GWG) and small for gestational age (SGA) infant birth.
Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of births included in the PRAMS Phase 8 dataset (2016-2017). The study population was 53,893 non-diabetic women with a singleton in-hospital birth between 37 and 42 weeks gestational age.
Results: Only obese non-Hispanic white and Hispanic women showed a consistent decrease in adjusted odds of high GWG as prenatal care visit category increased. Only non-Hispanic white women showed a lower increase in adjusted odds of an SGA infant birth with more compared to intermediate prenatal care.
Conclusions: The effectiveness of prenatal care in reducing high GWG varies by race for women with a BMI outside a healthy range. More prenatal care did not reduce SGA infant births amongst overweight or obese women.
Policy implications: Interventions to improve prenatal care delivery for overweight or obese women should consider race.
Document Type
Project
Recommended Citation
Mercier, Charles E.; Carter, Ariel; Dobbs, Tori; Bradford-Keel, Jeralyn T.; Dickinson, Emily; and Hart, Victoria, "The Association of Maternal Obesity and Race with Pregnancy Weight Gain and Small for Gestational Age Infant Birth: The Effect of Prenatal Care" (2020). Master of Public Health Culminating Projects. 9.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/mphcp/9