Achieving a Healthy Weight Gain During Pregnancy

This review uses the 1990 U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM) gestational weight gain recommendations to examine the question, what is a healthy pregnancy weight gain? The relationship of gestational weight gain to infant size at birth; pregnancy, labor, and delivery complications; neonatal, infant, and child outcomes; and maternal weight and health outcomes in U.S. and European populations are discussed. Pregnancy weight gains within the IOM recommendations are associated with better outcomes. The possible exception is very obese women, who may benefit from weight gains less than the 7 kg (15 pounds) recommended. Only about 33% to 40% of U.S. women gain within IOM recommendations. Excessive gestational weight gain is more prevalent than inadequate gain. Women's gestational weight gains tend to follow the recommendations of health care providers. Current interventions demonstrate efficacy in influencing gestational weight gain in low-income women with normal and overweight body mass index in the United States and obese women in Scandinavia.