Obese mothers and high infant mortality
Babies born to obese mothers have a higher risk of dying, particularly in the first weeks of life
Babies born to obese mothers have a higher risk of dying, particularly in the first weeks of life, compared to babies born to normal-weight mothers.
Researchers from America analysed 4,265 babies who died in infancy and 7,293 controls to find out the association between maternal
obesity and infant death, post-neonatal death, and cause-specific infant death. The data regarding the body mass index (BMI) and weight gain were collected.
Among the infants that died, 9 percent had obese mothers, compared to 6 percent of surviving infants. Babies born to obese women were at risk of death in their first year, and were also more likely to die in their first 28 days of life than infants born to normal-weight women.
While risk was higher for obese women no matter how much weight they gained, infant mortality was greatest among women who gained the most weight (half-kilogram per week), who were at nearly triple the risk of infant death. Risk was the second-highest for obese women who gained the least weight (less than 0.15 kg a week), who were at 2 times greater risk of infant death. A similar pattern was seen among overweight women, with those who gained the most weight and those who gained the least at highest risk.
A mother's pre-pregnancy body mass index had the greatest influence on neonatal death. Deaths due to complications of pregnancy, labour and delivery as well as problems related to preterm birth or low birth weight were higher among infants born to obese women, no matter how much weight a woman gained in pregnancy; however, increased risk of death due to respiratory problems, birth defects, and
SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) was only seen for the obese women in the highest weight-gain category.
The researchers concluded that maternal obesity was associated with increased risk of infant death, mainly neonatal death.
Epidemiology
January 2009
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