# The effect of advanced maternal age and gestational weight gain on newborns

## TL;DR

This study examines how advanced maternal age and weight gain during pregnancy affect newborn outcomes, finding a link between excessive weight gain and larger babies.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into the combined effects of maternal age and gestational weight gain on neonatal outcomes in a specific regional population.

## Key findings

- Excessive gestational weight gain increases the likelihood of large-for-gestational-age newborns by 1.81 times in univariate analysis.
- Gestational weight gain significantly affects birth weight Z-score, but gestational age does not.
- The study highlights the need for further research on maternal age and weight gain due to rising obesity rates.

## Abstract

Advanced maternal age is defined as the mother being ≥35 years of age at the time of birth. Gestational weight gain is the difference between the weight measurements of the pregnant woman at prenatal follow-up just before birth and at pre-conception or at the beginning of the first trimester. In our study, we examined the effects of maternal age and gestational weight gain on neonatal outcomes.

This study was conducted, in the Rize province between April 2022 and January 2023, on pregnant women registered in seven Family Health Centers in the last 5 years and their resulting newborns. In total, this study analyzed the data of 642 pregnant women and their 642 newborns. Data records in the study are pregnant-puerperal follow-up form, newborn-child follow-up form, and family medicine information system.

The probability of newborns of mothers with excessive gestational weight gain being large-for-gestational-age was found to be 1.81 times higher in univariate analysis and 1.72 times higher in multivariate analysis. While the effect of gestational weight gain status on birth weight Z-score was significant, gestational age had no significant effect (p=0.001 and p=0.136, respectively).

In this period, when obesity, which is a disease of our age, is widespread and the gestational age has moved to older ages, there is a need for more extensive research on this subject in future studies.