Outcomes of Maternal Weight Gain

A new AHRQ evidence report, Outcomes of Maternal Weight Gain, finds that women who gain more or less than recommended amounts of weight during pregnancy are likely to increase the risk of problems for both themselves and their child. However, researchers concluded that the existing body of research is inadequate to permit objective assessments of the range of harms and benefits that would arise from providing all women—irrespective of age, race or ethnicity, or their body mass index before they became pregnant—with the same recommendations for weight gain in pregnancy. Select to review an abstract of the report.