According to a new study that includes birth certificate data collected in 2011 from 36 states and Washington D.C., nearly one in four women are currently obese at the time they become pregnant, the Huffington Post reports.
An average of 23.4 percent of mothers in the states studied were obese, meaning that they had a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater during pregnancy. Women from North Dakota, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Louisiana had the highest rates of obesity during pregnancy, according to the report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and mothers over the age of 20 were more likely to be obese as compared to younger mothers.
Dr. Jill Rabin, chief of ambulatory care, obstetrics and gynecology at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y., told LiveScience that as nearly 36 percent of U.S. adults are obese, the results of the latest study are not surprising.
"It's important," Rabin advised, "for women to normalize their body weight before they become pregnant," as obesity during pregnancy is linked with increased risks of "gestational diabetes, "cesarean delivery and preeclampsia (high blood pressure) for the mother; as well as prematurity, stillbirth and excessive weight at birth for the fetus," according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).
The ACOG advises that women who are overweight or obese during pregnancy to follow an exercise program and receive nutrition counselling.
