Association between Mode of Delivery and Body Mass Index in a Cohort of Iraqi Pregnant Ladies: Cross Sectional Study

In the United States the prevalence rate of obesity in women during reproductive age has been estimated to be about one third. Aim of the study: To study the association between body mass index and mode of delivery in full term pregnant Iraqi women. The current cross sectional study 50 term pregnant ladies. The study was conducted at this hospital located in the center of Al-Diwaniyah province, Mid-Euphrates region, Iraq. The study started on January 2018 and ended at January 2019. Data about maternal age, parity, occupation and residency were obtained from each participant in addition to measurement of weight and height to evaluate body mass index (BMI). Women according to mode of delivery were distributed into 32 (64%) with normal vaginal delivery (NVD) and 18 (36%) with cesarean section (CS). Women delivered with CS had significantly higher BMI than women delivered by NVD, 28.28 ±6.45 kg/m² versus 24.44 ±3.44 kg/m², respectively and the level of significance was (P = 0.008). The rate of cesarean section was significantly higher in obese women followed by overweight women and finally by normal weight women, 75%, 29.4% and 28%, respectively (P = 0.043).