Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development

  • Year: 2019
  • Volume: 10
  • Issue: 6

Gender-Specific Impact of Maternal Obesity on Birth Weight

1Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq

2College of Medicine, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq

3College of Biotechnology, Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq

*Corresponding Author: Shahla O Al-Ogaidi, Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq

Online published on 11 July, 2019.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluated the impact of maternal obesity on birth weight and determine which gender is affected more. The study included 100 consecutive healthy eligible pregnant women enrolled at Al-Eluia Teaching Hospital in baghdad, Iraq between February and May 2017 for childbirth. Newborns were classified based on the definition of mothers’ BMI into three groups: 32 normal weight (18.5–24.9 kg/m2), 31 overweight (25–29.9 kg/m2), and 37 obese (>30 kg/m2). Detailed information on maternal age, gestational age, baby's gender, birth weight, and birth order were obtained. No significant difference was observed regarding birth weight and gestational age among the studied groups. However, when we consider gender differences, we found that male newborns of obese mothers are significantly heavier than newborns of normal weight mothers. As for females, there were no statistically significant differences in birth weight between three groups. Nevertheless, males of obese mothers are significantly (p <0.001) heavier (3700.0 ± 416.95) than females (3173.91 ± 405.88) of obese mothers. Moreover, gestational age was positively associated with birth weight for both genders (r=0.658, p: 0.000 for males; r=0.680, p: 0.000 for females), whereas maternal BMI was significantly associated with birth weight for male gender only(r=0.334, P: 0.029).

Keywords

Body Mass Index, Gestational Age, Pregnancy, Maternal Obesity, Birth Weight