Maternal weight gain
Women who have healthy babies gain varying amounts of weight during pregnancy. However, women who gain the recommended amount of weight based on pre-pregnancy body mass index have better pregnancy outcomes.
Women who do not gain enough weight during pregnancy may have an infant born prematurely, or one that is small for their gestational age. These infants face more risk of illness or death soon after birth, physical and cognitive disabilities, and chronic health problems later in life.
Women who gain too much weight tend to have large for gestational age infants, and face higher risks of longer labour and birth, birth trauma, birth asphyxia, caesarean birth, and increased risk of perinatal mortality.
Key findings:
- In Sudbury and districts, 27% of women gained the recommended amount of weight during pregnancy in 2016.
- A higher proportion of women gained weight in excess of the recommended amount (49%) than within the recommend guidelines
- A higher proportion of women in Sudbury and districts gained weight during pregnancy in excess of the recommended guidelines compared to Ontario overall. A larger proportion of maternal records in Ontario have missing data, which may explain this discrepancy.
- Between 2013 and 2016, the proportion of women who were within the recommended amount of weight gain during pregnancy in Sudbury and districts has remained stable.
Notes:
- These results do not include data from residents of First Nations reserves.
- Data source: BORN Information System, Better Outcomes Registry Network. Extracted March, 2017.
Figure: Annual proportion of women giving birth who gained weight below, within, and above recommended guidelines, by geographic area, 2013 to 2016
Table: Annual proportion of women giving birth who gained weight below, within, and above recommended guidelines, by geographic area, 2013 to 2016
| Weight gain | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Below Recommended | 14.7 | 14.7 | 17.0 | 18.5 |
| Within Recommended | 26.7 | 27.2 | 26.9 | 26.9 |
| Above Recommended | 50.9 | 50.8 | 49.0 | 48.8 |
Table: Annual number of women giving birth who gained weight below, within, and above recommended guidelines, by geographic area, 2013 to 2016
| Weight gain | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Below Recommended | 273 | 279 | 312 | 338 |
| Within Recommended | 495 | 517 | 494 | 491 |
| Above Recommended | 945 | 964 | 900 | 891 |
This item was last modified on October 26, 2018