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When a pregnant woman steps on the scale, the number she sees could affect her child's cardiovascular health years down the road.
Hi, I'm Dr. Cindy Haines, host of HealthDay TV.
In a new study in the journal Circulation, researchers investigated whether women's pregnancy weight is linked to heart-related concerns in their children. They followed thousands of women and their children, who returned at the age of 9 for a checkup.
Women who gained an excessive amount of weight during pregnancy were more likely to have kids with a higher body mass index, bigger waist circumference, higher blood pressure, higher levels of inflammatory chemicals, and lower "good" HDL cholesterol. Also, women who weighed more before they became pregnant tended to have kids with more body fat and heart-related risk factors.
In 2009, the Institute of Medicine published new recommendations for how much weight women should gain during pregnancy. Women who start out underweight should gain 28 to 40 pounds, including about a pound each week during the second and third trimester. Women with a normal weight should aim for 25 to 35 pounds total, including a pound weekly in the later trimesters. Women who are overweight should gain 15 to 25 pounds total, including about a half-pound weekly during later trimesters.
I'm Dr. Cindy Haines of HealthDay TV, with the news that doctors are reading; health news that matters to you.
