ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2011
Overweight and obesity knowledge prior to pregnancy: a survey study.
Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- What Is My Risk? A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review of Risk Perception for Cardiometabolic Pregnancy Complications and Future Cardiometabolic Disease Development.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2025Pooled it
- Perceived Risk Perception of Future Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes in the Postpartum Period.Journal of personalized medicine · 2026Article
- Knowledge Gaps Regarding Overweight and Obesity in Pregnancy: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Polish Women.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Associations between periconceptional lifestyle behaviours and adverse pregnancy outcomes.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2021Article
- Obesity-related knowledge and body mass index: a national survey in Portugal.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2020Article
- Weight management during pregnancy: a qualitative thematic analysis on knowledge, perceptions and experiences of overweight and obese women in Singapore.Global health action · 2018Article
- Low Gestational Weight Gain and Risk of Adverse Perinatal Outcomes in Obese and Severely Obese Women.Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2016Article
- Weight-related risk perception among healthy and overweight pregnant women: a cross-sectional study.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2015Article
- Article
- 'Ultrasound is an invaluable third eye, but it can't see everything': a qualitative study with obstetricians in Australia.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2014Article
- Obesity Disease and Surgery.International journal of chronic diseases · 2014Review
- A population-based study of overweight and obesity in expectant parents: socio-demographic patterns and within-couple associations.BMC public health · 2013Article
- Pregnant women's knowledge of weight, weight gain, complications of obesity and weight management strategies in pregnancy.BMC research notes · 2013Article
- Knowledge of obesity and its impact on reproductive health outcomes among urban women.Journal of community health · 2013Article
- Infertility patients' knowledge of the effects of obesity on reproductive health outcomes.American journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2012Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOverweight and obesity are associated with increased risk for pregnancy complications. Knowledge about increased risks in overweight and obese women could contribute to successful prevention strategies and the aim of this study is to assess current levels of knowledge in a pregnant population.
methodsCross sectional survey of 412 consecutive unselected women in early pregnancy in Brisbane, Australia: 255 public women attending their first antenatal clinic visit and 157 women at private maternal fetal medicine clinics undergoing a routine ultrasound evaluation prior to 20 weeks gestation. The cohort was stratified according to pre pregnancy BMI (< 25.0 or ≥ 25.0). The main outcome measure was knowledge regarding the risks of overweight and obesity in pregnancy.
resultsOver 75% of respondents identified that obese women have an increased risk of overall complications, including gestational diabetes and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy compared to women of normal weight. More than 60% of women asserted that obesity would increase the risk of caesarean section and less than half identified an increased risk of adverse neonatal outcomes. Women were less likely to know about neonatal complications (19.7% did not know about the effect of obesity on these) than maternal complications (7.4%). Knowledge was similar amongst women recruited at the public hospital and those recruited whilst attending for an ultrasound scan at a private clinic. For most areas they were also similar between women of lower and higher BMI, but women with BMI < 25.0 were less likely to know that obesity was associated with increased rate of Caesarean section than those with higher BMI (16.8% versus 4.5%, P < 0.001). Higher educational status was associated with more knowledge of the risks of overweight and obesity in pregnancy.
conclusionsMany women correctly identify that overweight and obesity increases the overall risk of complications of pregnancy and childbirth. The increased risks of maternal complications associated with being obese are better known than the increased risk of neonatal complications. Maternal education status is a main determinant of the extent of knowledge and this should be considered when designing education campaigns.
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