Anobservational Study on Impact of Maternal Body Mass Index on Maternal and Neonatal Outcome

Background: Obesity is a growing health problem worldwide. According to World Health Organization (WHO) obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health and body mass index (BMI) of 30kg/m² ormore as obese among adults. The prevalence of obesity is increasing in pregnancy. Obesity in pregnancy is responsible for several complications affecting the mother and fetus such as hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), dysfunctional labour, preterm labour, caesarean sections, postpartum infections and deep vein thrombosis. And the neonatal complications were congenital malformations, large for gestational age, macrosomic, prematurity, had high incidences of birth injuries, shoulder dystocia and late fetal deaths.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of maternal BMI on maternal outcomes in terms of Percentage of weight gain in pregnancy Hypergycemia in pregnancy Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy Mode of delivery

To evaluate the impact of maternal BMI on fetal outcomes interms of Birth weight APGAR score NICU admission

Methodology: The study was conducted among 100 patients visiting antenatal clinic at Dr. B R Ambedkar medical college and hospital under strict inclusion and exclusion criteria

Results: Majority of the women were in the age category 21-25 years, 53 (53%), followedby26-30 years in 30 (30%). Primigravida 39(39%), followed by second

gravida36 (36%), third gravida in 15 (15%) and multigravida (>3)in 10 (10%)of the patients respectively. The mean gestational age among the pregnant women was 37.5 weeks. Normal vaginal delivery was the most common mode of delivery, observed in 66 cases (66%). The mean maternal height was 1.60±0.08 meters, the mean maternal weight was 61.456 ± 8.66 kg, and the mean maternal BMI was 23.82 ± 2.62 kg/m².

The majority of participants, 68 cases (68%), were classified under BMI Category II (23–24.9kg/m²), category I (18–22.9kg/m²) included 20 cases (20%),12 cases (12%) fell under Category III (≥ 25 kg/m²), corresponding to the obese group. 49 women (49%), had a maternal weight gain between7–11.5kg, 30 women (30%) gained

11.6–15 kg, of 17 women (17%) had weight gain of more than 15 kg, 4 women (4%) gained less than 7 kg. 19(19%) of the women had gestational diabetes.

28(28%) of the women had hypertensive disorder. The mean birth weight among the neonates was 2.78±0.53 grams. The mean 1 minute Apgar score was 6±1.96 among the neonates. The mean 5 minute Apgar score was 6.94±1.59 among the neonates. 34 (34%) of the neonates required NICU admission. The most common neonatal complication observed was birth asphyxia, affecting 25 neonates (25%).

Conclusion: This study emphasizes that maternal BMI, weight gain impact pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. . Strengthening antenatal education, nutritional support, and delivery preparedness is essential. Multidisciplinary approaches integrating obstetrics, neonatology, dietetics, and endocrinology can pave the way toward safer pregnancies and healthier neonates