ArticleCMAJ open
Patterns and trajectories of gestational weight gain: a prospective cohort study.
Article in CMAJ open. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Gestational weight gain and its effect on birth outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa: Systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2020Pooled it
- Healthy conversation skills as an intervention to support healthy gestational weight gain: Experience and perceptions from intervention deliverers and participants.Patient education and counseling · 2019Trial
- Determinants of maternal and infant omega-3 status at 3 months postpartum: findings from the APrON longitudinal cohort study.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2025Article
- Methods for modeling gestational weight gain: empirical application using electronic health record data from a safety net population.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Gestational weight trajectory and risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes among women with gestational diabetes mellitus: A retrospective cohort study.Maternal & child nutrition · 2024Article
- Magnitude and Factors Associated with Gestational Weight Gain Adequacy among Pregnant Women in South Gondar Zone, Northwest Ethiopia.Current developments in nutrition · 2023Article
- Gestational weight gain among pregnant women in Ibadan, Nigeria: Pattern, predictors and pregnancy outcomes.PloS one · 2023Article
- Association between 1BMC nutrition · 2022Article
- Excessive Gestational Weight Gain and Long-Term Maternal Cardiovascular Risk Profile: The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation.Journal of women's health (2002) · 2022Article
- The Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) longitudinal study: cohort profile and key findings from the first three years.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Characterizing and Evaluating Diurnal Salivary Uric Acid Across Pregnancy Among Healthy Women.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Article
- Gestational weight gain outside the 2009 Institute of Medicine recommendations: novel psychological and behavioural factors associated with inadequate or excess weight gain in a prospective cohort study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2021Article
- Article
- The Effect of Gestational Weight Gain Across Reproductive History on Maternal Body Mass Index in Midlife: The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation.Journal of women's health (2002) · 2020Article
- Supporting women of childbearing age in the prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity: a scoping review of randomized control trials of behavioral interventions.BMC women's health · 2020Article
- Article
- Digital Marketing to Promote Healthy Weight Gain Among Pregnant Women in Alberta: An Implementation Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2019Article
- Article
- Adherence to Canada's Food Guide Recommendations during Pregnancy: Nutritional Epidemiology and Public Health.Current developments in nutrition · 2017Article
- Women's perceptions of discussions about gestational weight gain with health care providers during pregnancy and postpartum: a qualitative study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2017Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGestational weight gain in excess of or below Health Canada's guidelines is known to increase the risk of adverse outcomes for both the woman and her baby. This study describes patterns and trajectories of total and rate of gestational weight gain in a large prospective cohort of pregnant women and adolescents in the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition study.
methodsWe collected weight and height data for 1541 pregnant adolescents and women (mean age 31 years, < 27 weeks' gestation) recruited through advertisements and physicians' offices in Calgary and Edmonton between May 2009 and November 2012. Data were collected once during each trimester following enrolment and once at about 3 months post partum. The participants were categorized according to their prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) as underweight, of normal weight, overweight or obese. We calculated distributions of total and weekly rates of weight gain and determined trajectories of weight gain for each prepregnancy BMI category.
resultsOf the 1541 participants, 761 (49.4%) exceeded Health Canada's guidelines for total gestational weight gain, and 272 (17.6%) gained less weight than recommended. A total of 63 (19.2%) and 38 (23.6%) participants categorized as overweight or obese, respectively, exceeded the recommended upper limit by 5 to less than 10 kg, and 53 (16.2%) and 27 (16.8%), respectively, exceeded the upper limit by at least 10 kg. Ninety-five participants (30.3%) in the overweight group and 59 (39.6%) of those in the obese group gained weight at more than double the recommended rate between the second and third trimesters. The median weight gain for participants in the normal, overweight and obese categories had exceeded recommended upper limits by about 30, 20 and 18 weeks' gestation, respectively.
interpretationAdherence to Health Canada's guidelines for gestational weight gain was low. Excess gestational weight gain was most marked among those with a prepregnancy BMI in the overweight or obese category. The findings suggest that weight management in pregnancy is challenging and complex. Messages and supports that are tailored for women in different prepregnancy BMI categories may help to improve guideline-concordant gestational weight gain.
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Registered trials
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