TITLE:
Excessive Weight Gain during Pregnancy and Prognosis of Childbirth in Douala (Cameroun)
AUTHORS:
Henri Essome, Valere Mve Koh, Michel Ekono, Merlin Boten, Jean Paul Engbang, Matio Bewekedi, Pascal Foumane
KEYWORDS:
Excessive Weight Gain, Pregnancy, Maternofoetal Outcome
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.9 No.2,
February
21,
2019
ABSTRACT: The objective was to describe the maternofetal outcome of childbirth in
women with excessive weight gain during pregnancy. We conducted a
cross-sectional analytical study over a period of 03 months in the Obstetrics
Department of Laquintinie Hospital in Douala (HLD). Our study population
consisted of any pregnant in labor or waiting for a caesarean section. We
compared two groups of pregnant women with excessive weight gain during
pregnancy (exposed) and those without excessive weight gain during pregnancy
(unexposed). We recorded 240 pregnant women who gave birth at the HLD
maternity, 59 of whom had excessive weight gain during pregnancy, which gave us
a proportion of 24.6%. The only sociodemographic characteristic associated with
excessive weight gain during pregnancy was the married marital status of the
pregnant women (OR: 2.0 (1.1 - 3.8) P = 0.023).
Pregnant women with maternal complications associated with excessive weight
gain had an average elevated uterine height of 35.4 (P = 0.007). The increase
in caesarean section rate (P = 0.094) and the onset of pregnancy-related hypertension
(HTA) showed differences close to significance (P = 0.063). Mean birth weight
was higher (P = 0.023) in pregnant women with excessive weight gain during
pregnancy. Ultimately, excessive weight gain during pregnancy has deleterious
effects on the course of pregnancy and childbirth. It promotes the onset of
pregnancy HTA and macrosomia.