Healthy weight during pregnancy benefits mother, child

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
When pregnant women are said to be “eating for two,” they’re usually trying to ensure that they consume enough vitamins and nutrients to provide adequate sustenance to their unborn child, but new research indicates that this may not be such a great idea after all.
In fact, as Benja Muktabhant, an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition at Thailand’s Khon Kaen University, and her colleagues report in the latest edition of The Cochrane Library, a pregnant woman can actually improve her overall health and reduce the risk of childbirth-related complications by maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise.
Previous studies have shown that putting on too much weight during pregnancy can up the risk of gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, larger babies, and the need to deliver via caesarean section, the researchers explained in a statement. Furthermore, newborns that have higher birth weights are more at risk for childhood obesity.
However, Muktabhant’s team conducted a systematic review that found that diet and/or exercise interventions could prevent excessive weight gain during pregnancy. A previous version of their work published three years ago was inconclusive; however, the updated version included newer research and definitively concluded that dietary and fitness programs were beneficial.
 Findings may help shape new WHO prenatal care guidelines
The updated study is based on data pertaining to nearly 11,500 women, and found that while 45 percent of women who were members of a control group put on an excessive amount of weight during their pregnancies, only 36 percent of those who participated in some form of intervention program (low sugar diet, exercise, or some combination of both) did so.
In addition, women who received the interventions were less likely to have high blood pressure. The evidence also seemed to indicate that such programs could lead to a slight reduction in caesarean deliveries (from 29 percent to 27 percent) and a reduced chance of having a baby with a high birthweight (more than 4kg or 8.8 pounds).
“The review’s findings will be important for informing antenatal care guidelines. However, we need more studies on the effectiveness of these interventions in low-income countries and in women with non-Western lifestyles,” Muktabhant said in a statement, noting that new World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on prenatal care currently in development is expected to include recommendations based on this research.
“Pregnancy is a time when women have a lot of contact with healthcare providers, therefore there is no better time to engage and support women to make healthy lifestyle choices,” added study co-author Tess Lawrie. “We hope that these findings will encourage women not to overeat and to exercise regularly with the knowledge that their efforts will be rewarded with lower pregnancy weight gain and better health outcomes for themselves and their baby.”
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