Gestational weight gain and birth outcome in Mexican-American women

Factors associated with gestational weight gain in Hispanic women are not completely understood. In 2010, our research lab conducted a pilot study on a group of postpartum Mexican-American women (n= 30, 18-35 y; predominantly Mixtecan) who were recruited from a tertiary care clinic in Ventura County, California. Subjects completed a written questionnaire (translated into Spanish) and physical activity levels were evaluated using the Kaiser Physical Activity Survey (KPAS). Medical records were obtained for clinical data, including pregnancy anthropometrics and birth outcomes (gestational age, type of delivery, and birth weight). Since the time of the pilot study we sampled a larger cohort of women (n=90). This sample reported low levels of acculturation (1.14 ± 0.66; scale 1-5) and were predominantly overweight/obese (BMI of 25.64 ± 6.99kg/m2). When comparing subdomains of physical activity during pregnancy (scale 0-5), women were least involved in sport/exercise (1.94 ± 0.95) and reported slightly higher levels of activity in the categories of active living habits (2.89 ± 0.61) and household/caregiving (2.16 ± 0.94). We propose to evaluate gestational weight gain (GWG), weight gain above and below the recommended ranges by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), and the relationship of these variables to health behaviors (e.g., physical activity) and birth outcome (e.g., birth weight). We anticipate that our findings will contribute to recommendations for influencing key health behaviors at or before critical time periods in the reproductive years of Mexican-American women