Maternal Prepregnancy Overweight and Obesity and the Pattern of Labor Progression in Term Nulliparous Women
- 1 November 2004
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Obstetrics & Gynecology
- Vol. 104 (5, Part 1), 943-951
- https://doi.org/10.1097/01.aog.0000142713.53197.91
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of maternal overweight and obesity on labor progression. METHODS: We analyzed data from 612 nulliparous women with a term pregnancy that participated in the Pregnancy, Infection, and Nutrition Study from 1995 to 2002. The median duration of labor by each centimeter of cervical dilation was computed for normal-weight (body mass index [BMI] 19.8–26.0 kg/m2), overweight (BMI 26.1–29.0 kg/m2), and obese (BMI > 29.0 kg/m2) women and used as a measurement of labor progression. RESULTS: After adjusting for maternal height, labor induction, membrane rupture, oxytocin use, epidural analgesia, net maternal weight gain, and fetal size, the median duration of labor from 4 to 10 cm was significantly longer for both overweight and obese women, compared with normal-weight women (7.5, 7.9, and 6.2 hours, respectively). For overweight women, the prolongation was concentrated around 4–6 cm, whereas for obese women, their labor was significantly slower before 7 cm. CONCLUSION: Labor progression in overweight and obese women was significantly slower than that of normal-weight women before 6 cm of cervical dilation. Given that nearly one half of women of childbearing age are either overweight or obese, it is critical to consider differences in labor progression by maternal prepregnancy BMI before additional interventions are performed.Keywords
This publication has 19 references indexed in Scilit:
- The effect of early epidural versus early intravenous analgesia use on labor progression: A natural experimentAmerican Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2004
- Effects of Age on Validity of Self-Reported Height, Weight, and Body Mass IndexJournal of the American Dietetic Association, 2001
- Obesity as a risk factor for cesarean in a low-risk populationPublished by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) ,2001
- Determinants of participation in an epidemiological study of preterm deliveryPaediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, 1999
- Maternal anthropometric factors and risk of primary cesarean delivery.American Journal of Public Health, 1998
- Obstacles to reducing cesarean rates in a low-cesarean setting: the effect of maternal age, height, and weightPublished by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) ,1998
- Pregnancy Outcome and Weight Gain Recommendations for the Morbidly Obese WomanObstetrics & Gynecology, 1998
- Association between pre-pregnancy obesity and the risk of cesarean deliveryObstetrics & Gynecology, 1997
- Pregnancy Complications and Birth Outcomes in Obese and Normal-Weight Women: Effects of Gestational Weight ChangeObstetrics & Gynecology, 1996
- Changes in skinfolds during pregnancyBritish Journal of Nutrition, 1967