Managing obesity in pregnancy - An obstetric and midwifery perspective

- Overweight and obesity during pregnancy affect almost 50% of women across developed nations.
- Risk of almost all pregnancy and birth complications increases with increasing maternal BMI.
- Many barriers to effecting behavioural change during pregnancy exist.
- Current care recommendations largely reflect good clinical practice.

Overweight and obesity during pregnancy and childbirth represent a significant health burden, placing women and their infants at increased risk of almost all documented adverse outcomes. Research efforts have focused on strategies to limit gestational weight gain, including dietary and lifestyle interventions, as well as the use of adjuvant therapies such as metformin. However, there remain many barriers to behavioural change for women during pregnancy, and current care recommendations largely reflect good clinical practice, rather than being based on strong evidence.