BUFFALO, N.Y., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. women who are overweight or obese when they become pregnant increase their risk to both themselves and their offspring, a study shows.
Researchers at the University at Buffalo analyzed the prepregnancy body mass index of more than 79,000 women in eight counties of western New York who became pregnant between 1999 and 2003.
They found that the number of women who were overweight when they became pregnant increased by 11 percent and the number who were obese increased by 8 percent during that time.
"Cumulatively, 40.5 percent of all patients had prepregnancy BMIs in the overweight and obese categories in 2003 compared with 37.1 percent in 1999," said Dr. John Yeh. "Obese patients who become pregnant are at increased risk of developing gestational diabetes, pregnancy-related hypertension, preeclampsia, neonatal death and labor complications."
The study appears in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
