Abstract
Background
Gestational weight gain (GWG) is a critical issue related to the type of delivery and postpartum health in newborns and mothers. In Brazil, pregnant women's public health recommends monitoring GWG. Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate gestational weight gain and associated health factors of pregnant women monitored at SUS in the city of São Paulo between 2012 and 2020.
Methods
This is a cohort study of pregnant women seen from 2012 to 2020 in São Paulo, Brazil. The database used was from the Integrated Health Care Management System related to the Live Birth Information System. The variables used were: mother's height, mother's date of birth (used to calculate mother's age), type of pregnancy, gestational weeks, type of delivery, weight at the time of appointment, mother´s race/skin color, number of prenatal consultations, mother's marital status, and mother's education level, initial weight, final weight, initial gestational age, final gestational age, and initial and final BMI. Inclusion criteria considered that pregnant women had a recorded initial weight before 13 weeks and up to 15 days before delivery and a single pregnancy. The final database includes 276.220 pregnant women.
Results
The frequency of women according to initial BMI was 12.004 (4.4%) underweight, 132.049 (48.3%) normal weight, 78.856 (28.8%) overweight, and 50.660 (18.5%) living with obesity. The population consisted of 59.881 (21.9%), 37.217 (13.6%) and 176.471 (64.5%) women with LWG, AWG and EWG, respectively. Weight gain was associated with initial BMI, type of birth, race/skin color, marital status, women's age and antenatal care visits.
Conclusion
The proportion of pregnant women with inadequate weight gain is high, relating initial BMI, type of birth, race/skin color, marital status, women's age and antenatal care visits. Interventions such as nutritional education should be suggested to help achieve adequate GWG.