Thursday 22 November 2007
Pre-pregnancy obesity raises neonatal mortality risk
Source: Obstetrics and Gynecology 2007; 110: 1083-90
Investigating the impact of pre-pregnancy obesity on neonatal mortality rates in women with and without premature rupture of membranes.
MedWire News: Infants born to mothers who are obese before pregnancy face an increased risk for neonatal mortality, especially those born after premature rupture of membranes (PROM), Danish researchers suggest.
The researchers interviewed 85,375 pregnant women living in Denmark about factors including reproduction and lifestyle during the second trimester. Among the women, 3,857 were classified as underweight, 57,923 were considered to be of normal weight, 16,579 were overweight, and 7,016 were obese.
Information on pregnancy outcomes and neonatal deaths was obtained from Danish birth registers. PROM was diagnosed in 689 preterm births, and 230 neonates died.
Infants born to overweight and obese mothers faced a 1.6- and 1.7-fold increased risk for neonatal mortality compared with those born to normal-weight mothers.
Preterm PROM infants of overweight and obese mothers were three and six times as likely to face neonatal mortality, respectively, as infants born to normal-weight women.
High body mass index was not associated with neonatal mortality, irrespective of whether infants were born after spontaneous preterm birth, with or without preterm PROM, or after induced preterm delivery, the researchers note.
Ellen Nohr (University of Aarhus, Denmark) and colleagues conclude: "These findings may be relevant for clinicians concerned with the management of preterm birth and care for preterm infants."
Posted: 21 November 2007
(c) 2007 Current Medicine Group Ltd, a part of Springer Science+Business Media
http://www.orgyn.com/en/news/2007/We...ncy_obesit.asp
Pre-pregnancy obesity raises neonatal mortality risk 
