A new study in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, reveals how women from economically-disadvantaged backgrounds are most at risk of developing maternal obesity.
A total of 36, 821 women at a maternity unit in Middlesbrough were surveyed over a 15-year period, from 1 January 1990 to 31 December 2004. Researchers working closely with Dr Helen Simpson, consultant obstetrician, found that the incidence of maternal obesity at the start of pregnancy is increasing and accelerating. Maternal obesity has risen from 9.9% in 1990 to 16% in 2004. Researchers predict that if this trend continues, by 2010, 22% of pregnant women will be obese, thus putting a strain on maternity services.
The research has also revealed the risk factors determining maternal obesity, which include health inequalities and socio-economic deprivation. Women who were young, single and in education, or, who were older, separated, divorced, widowed or participating in education were found to have significantly lower rates of obesity.
Researcher Nicola Heslehurst, from the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Teesside, said, “The trends we have identified are from a primarily deprived population with limited ethnic diversity. There is an absence of national data on obesity in pregnancy so we are currently recruiting maternity units to identify the trends throughout England."