Research News:
Pregnancy-weight advice may be revised
A medical panel is acting at the behest of doctors who say heavy moms are gaining too much weight, raising risks for their kids.
By Daniel Yee The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 08/14/2007 10:41:57 PM MDT
Atlanta - An influential U.S. medical panel is considering changes to the medical guidelines for how much weight a woman should gain during pregnancy.
It's acting on the insistence of doctors who say that heavy moms are gaining too much weight and that the current recommendations do not factor in the country's obesity epidemic.
Carrying too much weight while pregnant increases the risk of complications for mother and baby, including birth defects, labor and delivery problems, fetal death, and delivery of large babies, according to the March of Dimes.
A revision is long overdue, said Dr. Raul Artal of the Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
"The reality is, for too long we are telling pregnant women to take it easy during pregnancy, be confined and to eat for two," he said. "This has been one factor in causing the epidemic of overweight and obesity that we see in our country."

The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal American journal of obstetrics & gynecology.