- Pregnant women with a high BMI are more likely to have a stillbirth
- They are also more likely to lose their baby shortly after birth
- Severely obese women have the highest risk – they are three times more likely to lose their baby than healthy weight women
15:00 EST, 15 April 2014
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15:00 EST, 15 April 2014
Mothers-to-be who are overweight are more likely to lose their babies than those who are a healthy weight
Pregnant women who are overweight are more likely to lose their baby, warn researchers.
A new research review shows women with a higher body mass index (BMI) before or in early pregnancy have a higher risk of the baby dying in pregnancy or labour, including stillbirth, and shortly after birth.
Severely obese women run the greatest risk – more than three times higher than women with the healthiest weight, say Imperial College London researchers.
But the risk starts to rise even when women are slightly overweight, according to a review of 38 studies.
Every day 17 babies in Britain die just before, during or soon after birth amounting to 6,500 babies a year.
NHS figures show that each day there are 11 stillbirths where a baby is born dead after 24 weeks of pregnancy – making stillbirth 15 times more common than cot death.
There are around 4,000 stillbirths every year in the UK and one in every 200 births ends in a stillbirth.
Around 15 per cent of British mothers are obese when expecting a child – up from seven per cent 20 years ago, according to latest figures.
Doctors have warned the obesity epidemic among pregnant women is an ever-growing burden on the NHS and could jeopardise the health of the next generation.
Complications suffered by obese women in pregnancy range from diabetes to life-threatening pre-eclampsia, while babies born to fat women are at greater risk of diabetes and obesity themselves in later life.
MP Anna Soubry, while public health minister last year, said it was ‘absolutely bonkers’ that midwives were no longer routinely weighing pregnant women.
In the new review, lead researcher Dr Dagfinn Aune investigated the link between maternal weight and baby and infant deaths.
Altogether 38 studies included more than 10,147 foetal deaths, more than 16,274 stillbirths, more than 4,311 perinatal deaths, 11,294 neonatal deaths, and 4,983 infant deaths.
The highest risk is among women who are overweight before pregnancy and in the early stages of pregnancy
Doctors use Body Mass Index (BMI) to assess whether patients are overweight by comparing height to weight, in a calculation which divides weight in kilos by height in metres squared.
A BMI of 20 to 24.9 is healthy, while 25 to 29.9 is overweight and 30-plus is obese. BMI of 40 plus is super-obese.
The researchers found even ‘modest increases’ in maternal BMI were associated with increased risk of the baby dying in pregnancy or labour, stillbirth, or death shortly after birth.
Severely obese women are three times more likely to lose their babies than healthy weight women
The risk for super-obese women with a BMI of 40 was between two and 3.5-fold higher compared to women with a BMI of 20.
But the rate of stillbirth per 10,000 pregnancies was 20 per cent higher for overweight women, and 50 per cent higher for obese women, says the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Dr Aune said: ‘Weight management guidelines for women who plan pregnancies should take these findings into consideration to reduce the burden of foetal deaths, stillbirths, and infant deaths.’
Experts said the findings show the importance of being ‘fit for pregnancy’ and healthy eating while pregnant, but stressed dieting was never recommended.
In the UK, there are no specific recommendations for how much weight a woman should put on during pregnancy.
Experts do not recommend weight loss in pregnancy, but advise bigger mums to keep their weight stable and aim to gain around 22lbs or 10kg only.
A woman’s weight is currently only recorded when she goes for her first antenatal check, with more regular checks abandoned in the 1990s.
NHS guidance tells women that during the first six months of pregnancy energy needs do not change, so no extra food is needed, while only 200 calories more a day is needed in the later stages.
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Peter Noterfed,
Paris, France,
33 minutes ago
Should do an article on overweight policemen who were recently seen on TV running urgently in reaction react to an airport emergency. Can they really perform their jobs safely being so grossly overweight?
herbertsherbert2,
utopia,
1 hour ago
And a lot of these over weight women give birth and didn’t realise they were pregnant
Mike in Letcombe,
South Oxfordshire England, United Kingdom,
2 hours ago
Judging by the vast swathes of women I see pushing their ‘babbbieees’ around, most of which have muffin tops spilling out onto their hipster jeans, this isn’t true. In fact, the fatter they are, the more likely they are to have numerous ‘babbbieeees’ popping out all over the place. I do sometimes wonder how on earth they got pregnant in the first place, surely they have to be ‘attractive’ to some bloke first but each to their own….
Jon Sims,
Ningbo, China,
2 hours ago
They may lose them more but they usually turn up quite well, hiding in the folds of flesh..
PhilJ,
Cardiff,
2 hours ago
Did you know that everyone born AFTER 1900 will die.
jackma,
Anytown,
3 hours ago
I guess this means very few kids will be born here in the US, where all the women of child-bearing age seek to be overweight slobs like Kim Kardashian.
butterme,
Northern California, United States,
3 hours ago
I was overweight when I gave birth to all four of my kids. They were all born extremely healthy.
ChicagoLoop,
Chicago, United States,
5 hours ago
I have just seen the published paper. BMI 20 was used as a reference standard. For BMI 20, per 10,000 pregnancies there were 76 fetal deaths, 40 stillbirths, 66 perinatal deaths, 20 neonatal deaths, and 24 infant deaths. For BMI 25 (the boundary between “normal†weight and overweight) the respective values are in the ranges of 76-88, 46-51, 67-81, 19-23, and 34-39. For BMI 30 (the boundary between overweight and stage 1 obesity) the respective values are in the ranges of 93-112, 55-63, 76-98, 22-27, and 40-47. Research published last year showed that BMI 18.5 or BMI 25 presents an increased risk of maternal complications. So it appears a possible optimal BMI for pregnancy is between 18.5 and 25. After you have your babies, then you can put on some extra pounds to get you into the overweight category for the lowest risk of death.
Atavist,
Little Oakley, United Kingdom,
7 hours ago
“I’m eating for twoâ€. Er, an adult and a tiny baby. Look at the Duchess of Cambridge’s wife, or his mum Diana. Seeing pregnancy as an excuse to overeat is irresponsible motherhood. And your husband will think “Oh no, I married a walrusâ€.
Rockresearchergal,
Perth,
4 hours ago
Dutchy,
Windy city,
8 hours ago
How sad ! My daughter was born in silence during the 37th week of the pregnancy because our doctor missed all preeclampsia signals. How many parents do you think have the heart and guys to start an investigation when their baby dies ?
If there was a proper registration and investigation procedure we would learn why healthy babies are stillborn.
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