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

Included in

Public Health Commons

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