Impact of maternal weight gain.

Title
Impact of prepregnant body mass index and maternal weight gain on the risk of pregnancy complications in Japanese women.
Source
Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. 85(3):269-76, 2006.



"CONCLUSIONS: Japanese women with prepregnant body mass indexes from 18 to 23.9 are least associated with pregnancy complications, although there is a broad range of prepregnant body mass indexes associated with few pregnancy complications. Optimal weight gain is roughly inversely related to prepregnant body mass index."

Title
Maternal diet in early and late pregnancy in relation to weight gain.
Source
International Journal of Obesity. 30(3):492-9, 2006 Mar.

"Women who are overweight before pregnancy should get special attention regarding lifestyle modifications affecting consequent weight gain during pregnancy. They are most likely to gain excessive weight and therefore most likely to suffer pregnancy and delivery complications and struggle with increasing overweight and obesity after giving birth."

Body mass index
A key index for relating a person's body weight to their height. The body mass index (BMI) is a person's weight in kilograms (kg) divided by their height in meters (m) squared.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) now defines normal weight, overweight, and obesity according to the BMI rather than the traditional height/weight charts. Since the BMI describes the body weight relative to height, it correlates strongly (in adults) with the total body fat content.

Overweight is defined as a BMI of 27.3 % or more for women and 27.8 % or more for men, according to the NIH. Obesity is defined as a BMI of 30 and above, according to the NIH. (A BMI of 30 is about 30 pounds overweight.) Note, however, that some very muscular people may have a high BMI without undue health risks.