A study from Sweden indicates that overweight or obese women have a greater risk of giving birth prematurely in singleton births, and the risk increases in proportion to the amount of excess weight.
The study, published in the June, 2013 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, examined one and a half million deliveries in Sweden.
Researchers postulated that problems often associated with overweight and obesity, including high blood pressure, insulin resistance and high cholesterol, interfered with a woman’s ability to carry her infant to full term. (Birth before 37 weeks’ gestation is the leading cause of infant mortality, newborn illness and long-term disability.)
Study authors went over records of 1.59 million births between 1992 and 2010. They looked at the mothers’ body-mass index or BMI (a rough measure of the body’s fat percentage, using height and weight to calculate) at the mother’s first pre-natal doctor’s visit, then examined information gathered after the deliveries about health risks, maternal diseases and complications during pregnancy.
Researchers found that the risk of extremely premature (22 to 27 weeks), very premature (28 to 31 weeks) and moderately premature (32 to 36 weeks) deliveries increased as the mother’s BMI increased.
Dr. Sven Cnattingius, a professor at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and lead study author, noted that 34 percent of all pregnant Swedish women are overweight or obese. Overweight and obesity appear to increase pregnancy complications including gestational diabetes and delivery by Caesarian section.
The study’s authors noted that even though the study was done in Sweden, its results can be projected to other populations where maternal obesity rates or preterm deliveries are high.
In the United States, just over 50 percent of all women are overweight or obese at the beginning of their pregnancies, with extreme obesity being much more common than in Sweden. U.S. preterm delivery rates are twice as high as Sweden’s. Extremely preterm births account for 25 percent of all U.S. infant deaths and is the leading cause of long-term disability.
Doctors point out that obesity and the illnesses associated with it increase the amount of inflammation in a woman’s body. This inflammation makes different complications more likely, including the possibility that a woman could develop an infection inside the uterus.
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has advised that it’s okay for overweight or obese women not to gain weight during pregnancy, or even to lose weight. Meanwhile, American doctors are also calling for more studies to be done on the subject of excess weight and preterm delivery, in an effort to better understand the specific mechanisms by which overweight and obesity cause a woman to go into early labor.
As is the case with everyone, whether or not they’re expecting, diet and exercise are the best two ways to shed excess weight and speed up metabolism. There is no better time than when you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, to incorporate healthy eating and exercise habits into your life.
As far as foods, you will want to watch your sugar intake and include plenty of vegetables and raw fruits in your daily diet. Eat low-fat dairy and lean meats (chicken and fish are both leaner than beef, though lean beef cuts here and there are good, also). Include legumes (beans and pea varieties) in your diet, as low-fat, high-nutrient sources of protein. Avoid processed foods and artificial chemicals and preservatives, eating whole and minimally processed foods instead.
As for exercise, if you’re already pregnant, this is no time to get too wild, of course. Walking is a terrific and vastly underrated form of exercise. Try to incorporate a daily 30-minute or longer walk into your routine. You can also lie on a floor mat or sit on a comfortable, thick cushion, and do gentle stretching exercises with your arms and legs, being careful not to twist or bend the abdomen.
Physical activity will boost energy, make you limber, burn fat, and increase lean muscle. The more lean muscle you have, the better your body will burn off calories. Exercise will also help lower blood pressure, regulate insulin levels in the blood, strengthen your immune system and tone up your cardiovascular system.
By Marc Courtiol