Study links maternal obesity to newborn death in sub-Saharan Africa

"For the first time researchers have discovered a link between overweight and obese mothers in sub-Saharan Africa and infant mortality," Jennifer James, founder of Mom Bloggers for Social Good, writes in this post in the Bill & Melinda Gate's "Impatient Optimists" blog, adding, "In a study published in The Lancet this month, researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical medicine show a definitive correlation between maternal obesity and the prevalence of neonatal deaths (infants who die in the first 28 days of life) especially before two days of age." She continues, "Now that there is growing maternal obesity in sub-Saharan Africa -- albeit slow -- this poses a stark contrast to the traditional indicators of neonatal deaths such as underweight mothers and lack of access to health services and trained health workers for pregnancy and delivery in developing countries" (8/24).