# Maternal Body Mass Index and Recommended Gestational Weight Gain in a Middle Eastern Setting

## TL;DR

This study examines how maternal BMI and gestational weight gain relate in Qatar, finding that higher BMI is linked to lower weight gain, but many overweight or obese women still exceed recommended gains.

## Contribution

The study provides insights into BMI and GWG associations in a Middle Eastern population, highlighting adherence to IOM guidelines.

## Key findings

- Higher maternal BMI correlates with decreased gestational weight gain.
- Over one-third of overweight or obese women exceeded IOM GWG recommendations.
- BMI remains significantly associated with GWG after adjusting for age, parity, and gestational age.

## Abstract

Maternal body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) are modifiable risk factors that influence pregnancy outcomes. We examined the association between the two factors in pregnant women in Qatar with regard to the GWG recommendations by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2009.

We performed a population-based retrospective cohort analysis of 3547 singleton births, using routinely collected data from a Middle Eastern hospital database.

The mean maternal age was 29.7 ± 5.5 years, prepregnancy BMI was 27.5 ± 5.8 kg/m2, GWG was 9.58 kg ± 6.87 kg and gestational age at birth was 38.5 ± 1.9 weeks. In line with IOM recommendations, we found that higher BMI was correlated with decreased GWG and BMI was significantly associated with GWG even after adjusting for maternal age, parity, and infants’ gestational age at birth. Nonetheless, GWG in more than one-third of women who were overweight or obese exceeded the IOM recommendation.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10995-023-03816-z.

Gestational weight gain is an important factor that influences short- and long-term pregnancy outcomes in women and their infants. The present study findings show that while many women achieved optimum weight gain during pregnancy, a significant proportion of who are overweight or obese, exceeded recommended weight gain.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10995-023-03816-z.