Weight after childbirth : A 2-year follow-up of obese women in a weight-gain restriction program

Objective: To investigate the effects of a weight gain restriction program on weight development or weight maintenance two years after childbirth. Methods: The intervention group consisted of 155 obese pregnant women who participated in a weight gain restriction program with weekly support duringpregnancy. The control group consisted of 193 obese pregnant women. Follow-up weight measurements were done at 12 and 24 months postpartum. Results: The mean value of weight change in the intervention group was -2.2 kg compared to + 0.4 kg in the control group from early pregnancy to the follow-up 12 months after childbirth (p = .046). A greater percentage of women in the intervention group showed a weight loss 24 months after delivery than did women in the control group at that same time (p = .034). Women in the intervention group who gained less than 7 kg during pregnancy had a significantly lower weight than the controls at the 24 months follow-up (p = .018). Conclusion: An intervention program with weekly motivational support visits during pregnancy and every 6 months after childbirth seems to have an impact on weight gain up to 24 months after childbirth for those women in the intervention group who succeeded in restricting their gestational weight gain to less than 7 kg.Original Publication:Ing-Marie Claesson, Gunilla Sydsjö, Jan Brynhildsen, Maria Blomberg, Annika Jeppsson, Adam Sydsjö and Ann Josefsson, Weight after childbirth: A 2-year follow-up of obese women in a weight-gain restriction program, 2011, Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, (90), 1, 103-110.http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0412.2010.01016.xCopyright: Informa Healthcarehttp://informahealthcare.com