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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Trying to get pregnant, but want to lose a few pounds first? Heres more motivation: new evidence suggests not only does obesity during pregnancy put a mother and child at a greater risk for health problems, it is also linked to an increase of health care services.
In a recent study of 13,442 pregnancies between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2004, researchers found overweight expecting women used both inpatient and outpatient health care services more frequently. This was especially true for severely obese women, with a BMI of 35 or greater.
Researchers say a higher than normal body mass index (BMI) was associated with an increased length of hospital stay for delivery, mostly due to a higher cesarean birth rate and high-risk conditions linked to obesity. The average hospital stay for extremely obese women was four-and-a-half days, compared to about three-and-a-half days for women with a normal BMI.
A higher than normal BMI was also associated with more prenatal fetal tests and obstetrical ultrasonographic examinations, more medications, and more telephone calls to obstetrics and gynecology departments. Researchers also found overweight pregnant women visited their physician more often while seeing nurse practitioners and physician assistants less frequently.
Obese women are at increased risk for complications of pregnancy, particularly hypertensive disorders, preexisting and gestational diabetes mellitus and cesarean delivery, study authors write. Given the rapid increase in the prevalence of obesity in the United States, obesity during pregnancy is now a common high-risk obstetrical condition affecting about one in five women who give birth.
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SOURCE: The New England Journal of Medicine, 2008;358:1444-1453
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