Study links obesity in pregnancy to birth defects
April 10, 1996
Web posted at: 1 a.m. EDTFrom Correspondent Eugenia Halsey
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two new medical studies published Tuesday added to a growing body of evidence that a healthy pregnant woman is more likely to have an easier pregnancy and healthier children.
The first study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Tuesday, counters doctors' typical advice that women should gain at least 25 pounds during the course of their pregnancies.
Researchers at Boston University found evidence that mothers who were overweight before they became pregnant are at greater risk of having a child with neural tube defects, including spina bifida -- which can paralyze legs -- and anencephaly, which results in an underdeveloped brain.
"For women who weighed about 176 pounds, the risk was approximately two-fold, a doubling in risk," said Martha Werler of the Boston University School of Medicine.
The group also found that folic acid, a vitamin known to help reduce the chances of birth defects, did not decrease that risk among heavier women.
Right now, Werler says, researchers don't understand why that would be the case.
"Possible factors might be nutritional factors other than folate, metabolic factors, genetic factors," she said.
About 10 percent of women are obese before pregnancy. The Boston University researchers did not determine whether losing weight before pregnancy would help; overweight women considering slimming down should consult their doctors, they say, because a diet at the wrong time could also hurt their babies.
Another report, also in the Journal of the American Medical Association, sheds light on the role of calcium during pregnancy. Canadian researchers found that women who got enough calcium during their pregnancy, whether through food or supplements, reduced their risk of developing a type of high blood pressure called preeclampsia by 60 to 70 percent. Preeclampsia is a serious complication that affects up to 20 percent of pregnant women.
Dr. David McCarron, a professor at Oregon Health Sciences University professor, said the study's implications are "huge, because high blood pressure, toxemia, or preeclampsia is a major contributor to cesarean sections, preterm labor, and low birth weight infants."
All those situations can threaten the health of the child.
Lynn Conforti, who expects her first baby next month, recently started drinking more milk, a primary source of calcium.
"It was never necessarily a part of my normal diet. Once I became pregnant, however, understanding the nutritional value of calcium to the development of the baby, that made it become a part of my diet every day," she said.
Dr. McCarron says pregnant women should first try to get calcium through their diet by consuming three to four servings a day of milk or other dairy foods. If they can't, then he recommends calcium supplements.
Both of these studies underscore the importance of prenatal education and care, and point to applying good health habits, especially when pregnant.
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