The New Nation - Internet Edition

ACCORDING to a recent report quoting US researchers, women who gain more than 40 pounds during pregnancy have nearly twice the risk of delivering a heavy baby as those who gain less. The study of more than 40,000 US women and their babies found as many as one in five women gains too much weight during pregnancy, doubling the chances her baby will weigh 9 pounds or more. And they found women who gain more than 40 pounds during pregnancy are more likely to have a heavy baby even if they do not have gestational diabetes.

Because there are so many women who are gaining more than 40 pounds during pregnancy, it's an important health message for most women to avoid excessive weight during pregnancy, one of the researchers stated sounding a note of warning. Heavy babies are programmed to become overweight or obese later in life. Obesity is a health problem in America. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, babies who weigh more than 9 pounds at birth are considered heavy. A large baby also can pose risk to both the mother and the baby for a difficult delivery.

The group of women at greatest risk was those who gained more than 40 pounds and had gestational diabetes. Nearly 30 per cent of these women had heavy babies, compared with 13.5 per cent of women with gestational diabetes who had normal weight gains during pregnancy. The researchers said the findings suggest all women should avoid excessive weight gain during pregnancy and women who are being treated for gestational diabetes should also strive to keep weight gain below 40 pounds.