HOUSTON, Texas, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Mothers of babies born with some birth defects appear more likely to be obese prior to pregnancy than mothers of infants without defects, a U.S. study shows.
D. Kim Waller, Phd., of the University of Texas in Houston and colleagues interviewed 10,249 women in eight states whose babies were born with birth defects between 1997 and 2002.
The women were contacted between six weeks and 24 months after the baby’s birth and asked for their height and weight before pregnancy, along with other demographic and medical information. These women were compared with 4,065 women who had babies without birth defects during the same time period.
Mothers of babies with spina bifida; heart defects; malformation of the anal opening; a urethra opening on the underside; missing toes, fingers, arms or legs; diaphragmatic hernia; and abdominal organs protruding through the navel were more likely to be obese than mothers of infants without birth defects, according to the study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
