Pregnancy and post-delivery maternal weight changes and overweight in preschool children

Camille A Robinson; Alison K Cohen; David H Rehkopf; Julianna Deardorff; Lorrene Ritchie; Ruvani T Jayaweera; Jeremy R Coyle; Barbara Abrams

doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2013.12.018

Pregnancy and post-delivery maternal weight changes and overweight in preschool children

Prev Med. 2014 Mar:60:77-82. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2013.12.018. Epub 2013 Dec 24.

Authors

Camille A Robinson¹, Alison K Cohen², David H Rehkopf³, Julianna Deardorff⁴, Lorrene Ritchie⁵, Ruvani T Jayaweera², Jeremy R Coyle⁶, Barbara Abrams⁷

Affiliations

¹ University of California -San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, USA; University of California -Berkeley, School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology, Berkeley, CA, USA.
² University of California -Berkeley, School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology, Berkeley, CA, USA.
³ Stanford University School of Medicine, Division of General Medical Disciplines, Stanford, CA, USA.
⁴ University of California -Berkeley, School of Public Health, Division of Community Health and Human Development, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁵ University of California -Berkeley, Atkins Center for Weight and Health, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁶ University of California -Berkeley, School of Public Health, Division of Biostatistics, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁷ University of California -Berkeley, School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology, Berkeley, CA, USA; University of California -Berkeley, School of Public Health, Division of Community Health and Human Development, Berkeley, CA, USA. Electronic address: babrams@berkeley.edu.

Abstract

Objectives: High maternal weight before and during pregnancy contributes to child obesity. To assess the additional role of weight change after delivery, we examined associations between pre- and post-pregnancy weight changes and preschooler overweight.

Sample: 4359 children from the Children and Young Adults of the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) born to 2816 NLSY mothers between 1979 and 2006 and followed to age 4-5years old.

Exposures: gestational weight gain (GWG) and post-delivery maternal weight change (PDWC).

Outcome: child overweight (body mass index (BMI) ≥85th percentile).

Results: Adjusted models suggested that both increased GWG (OR: 1.08 per 5kg GWG, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.16) and excessive GWG (OR: 1.29 versus adequate GWG, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.56) were associated with preschooler overweight. Maternal weight change after delivery was also independently associated with child overweight (OR: 1.12 per 5kg PDWC, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.21). Associations were stronger among children with overweight or obese mothers.

Conclusions: Increased maternal weight gain both during and after pregnancy predicted overweight in preschool children. Our results suggest that healthy post-pregnancy weight may join normal pre-pregnancy BMI and adequate GWG as a potentially modifiable risk factor for child overweight.

Keywords: Body mass index; Child; Longitudinal studies; Mothers; Obesity; Overweight; Postpartum period; Pregnancy; Weight gain; Weight loss.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Birth Weight
Body Mass Index
Child, Preschool
Cohort Studies
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Gestational Age*
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Overweight / epidemiology*
Pediatric Obesity / epidemiology*
Postpartum Period* / ethnology
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Outcome / ethnology
Primary Health Care
Regression Analysis
Socioeconomic Factors
United States / epidemiology
Weight Gain / physiology*
Young Adult

Grants and funding

R01 MD006104/MD/NIMHD NIH HHS/United States