Obesity 'epidemic' in pregnant women

About half of women of childbearing age are either overweight – with a body mass index (BMI) of 25-29.9 – or obese, with a BMI of 30 or above, and approximately 16 per cent of women in England are obese from the start of pregnancy, according to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice).

The organisation has published new public health guidance today covering weight management before, during and after pregnancy, in the face of growing evidence concerning female obesity and the related risks for both mothers and babies.

Professor Lucilla Poston, director of maternal and fetal research at King's College London, said: "These guidelines are incredibly timely, we have an epidemic of obesity amongst our pregnant population.

"At St Thomas' (Hospital in London) recently we looked at our stats and there has been an exponential increase in obesity amongst our women attending ante-natal clinics, such that now 40 per cent of the women are overweight or obese, and in the UK the best statistics we have suggests between 15 per cent and 20 per cent of pregnant women are coming into pregnancy with a BMI which is less than ideal."

She added that obese women were at increased risk of "almost every complication in the book in pregnancy".

Potential complications included impaired glucose tolerance and gestational diabetes, miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, thromboembolism and maternal death.