Pregnancy outcomin low-weight women

Objective. To determine the prevalence of low body mass index (BMI) for pregnant women, the characteristics of their medical history, and unfavorable pregnancy outcomes and to assess the risk of unfavorable outcomes in women with low BMI. Subjects and methods. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data on 57,226 births registered in the Arkhangelsk Regional Birth Registry for 2012-2015. The prevalence of sociodemographic and medical factors was investigated in singleton pregnant women with low and normal BMI. Stillbirth rates, preterm labor, a baby’s low or very low weight, five-minute Apgar scores, the need for neonatal transfer, and early neonatal death were studied as outcomes. Differences between the groups of women with low and normal BMI were determined using the Pearson’s chi-square test. Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were determined by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results. Compared with women with normal BMI, in the group of mothers with a low BMI (n = 3401, 7.0% of the total number of births) there was a large proportion of primiparous, young, unemployed, smoking women, and those with a lower maternal educational level. The women with low BMI were found to have an increased risk of giving birth to a low birth weight baby. Conclusion. Low BMI of a woman increases the risk of having a low birth weight baby.

body mass index, low body weight, birth registry