Skip to main content
Log in

Trends in Pregnancy Weight Gain Within and Outside Ranges Recommended by the Institute of Medicine in a WIC Population

  • Published:
Maternal and Child Health Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the proportion of women with a pregnancy weight gain below, within, and above ranges recommended by the Institute of Medicine from 1990 to 1996. Methods; Our study population included women attending Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) clinics in five states who delivered a liveborn singleton infant at term (N = 120,531). Pregnancy weight gain was self-reported at the postpartum visit Results: Only 34% of women gained weight within recommended ranges and there was little change in this proportion from 1990 to 1996. The proportion of women gaining less than their recommended weight decreased from 23.4% to 22.0%, and the proportion gaining more than recommended increased from 41.5% to 43.7% during the study period. Stratified analyses revealed similar trends within all race-ethnicity, age, parity, trimester of WIC initiation, and trimester of prenatal care initiation strata and among women in low, average, and high prepregnancy body mass index categories. There was no change in the weight gain distribution among obese women. Absolute and relative increases in the proportion of women gaining more weight than recommended were greatest among women who were underweight, Asian or Native American, less than 20 years of age, multiparous, and who initiated WIC and prenatal care in the third trimester. Conclusions: Pregnancy weight gain increased among this population of WIC participants from 1990 to 1996.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. Abrams BF, Laros RK. Prepregnancy weight, weight gain, and birth weight. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1986;154:503–9.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Schieve LA, Cogswell ME, Scanlon KS. An empiric evaluation of the Institute of Medicines's pregnancy weight gain guidelines. Obstet Gynecol 1998;91:878–84.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Abrams B, Newman V, Key T, Parker J. Maternal weight gain and preterm delivery. Obstet Gynecol 1989;74:577–83.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Kramer MS, Coates AL, Michoud MC, Dagenais S, Hamilton EF, Papageorgiou A. Maternal anthropometry and idiopathic preterm labor. Obstet Gynecol 1995;86:744–8.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Naeye RL. Weight gain and the outcome of pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1979;135:3–9.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Johnson JWC, Longmate JA, Frentzen B. Excessive maternal weight and pregnancy outcome. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1992;167:353–70.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Keppel KG, Taffel SM, Pregnancy-related weight gain and retention: implications of the 1990 Institute of Medicine guidelines. Am J Public Health 1993;83:1100–3.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Institute of Medicine. Nutrition during pregnancy: Part I: Weight gain. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Institute of Medicine. Nutrition during pregnancy and lactation: An implementation guide. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Kim I, Hungerford DW, Yip R, Kuester SA, Zyrkowski C, Trowbridge FL. Pregnancy nutrition surveillance system-United States, 1979–1990. MMWR 1992;41(SS-7):25–41.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Rowland ML. Self-reported weight and height. Am J Clin Nutr 1990;52:1125–33.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Stevens-Simon C, Roghmann KJ, McAnarney ER. Relationship of self-reported prepregnant weight and weight gain during pregnancy to maternal body habitus and age. JADA 1992;92:85–7.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Ventura SJ, Martin JA, Curtin SC, Mathews TJ. Report of final natality statistics, 1996. Monthly Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 46(No. 11, suppl.). Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Rush D, Sloan NL, Leighton J, et al. The national WIC evaluation: an evaluation of the special supplemental food program for women infants and children V. Longitudinal study of pregnant women. Am J Clin Nutr 1988;48(suppl.):439–83.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Kuczmarski RJ, Flegal KM, Campbell SM, Johnson CL. Increasing prevalence of overweight among U.S. adults. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 1960 to 1991. JAMA 1994;272:205–11.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Williamson DF, Madans J, Pamuk E, Flegal KM, Kendrick JS, Serdula MK. A prospective study of childbearing and 10-year weight gain in U.S. white women 25 to 45 years of age. Int J Obesity 1994;18:561–9.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laura A. Schieve.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Schieve, L.A., Cogswell, M.E. & Scanlon, K.S. Trends in Pregnancy Weight Gain Within and Outside Ranges Recommended by the Institute of Medicine in a WIC Population. Matern Child Health J 2, 111–116 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022992823185

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022992823185

Navigation