New Study Looks At Weight Gain In Pregnancies

KYW's Medical Reports Sponsored By Independence Blue Cross

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It is a well known fact that during pregnancy, too much weight gain, or too little weight gain, are often associated with medical issues in the baby once the child is born.

But most of this information is anecdotal and not supported by studies.

Researchers in Australia decided to take a look at this by analyzing data from over 900,000 deliveries.

What they found was that 47% of pregnancies reported an above recommended weight gain, and 23% had a lower-than-recommended weight gain.

This supports findings of an earlier study which reported over 50% of women with obesity gained more than the recommended gestational weight gain during pregnancy.

This supports the need for early prenatal care and guidance regarding weight gain.