Adverse Outcomes Seen With Gestational Weight Gain Outside Recommendations

MONDAY, Nov. 24, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Gestational weight gain (GWG) outside of Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations is associated with an increased risk for adverse outcomes, according to a review published online Nov. 19 in The BMJ.Rebecca F. Goldstein, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the associations between GWG and clinical outcomes. Forty studies met the inclusion criteria, with 1,608,711 participants: 6, 53, 19, and 22 percent had underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obesity, respectively.In 23 and 45 percent, GWG was below or above the IOM or study-specific recommendations, respectively. The researchers found that GWG below IOM recommendations was associated with lower birth weight (mean difference, −184.54) and with lower risks for cesarean delivery, large-for-gestational-age infant, and macrosomia (odds ratios, 0.90, 0.67, and 0.68, respectively) and higher risks for preterm birth, small-for-gestational-age infant, low birth weight, and respiratory distress (odds ratios, 1.63, 1.49, 1.78, and 1.29, respectively). There were associations seen for GWG above IOM recommendations with higher birth weight (mean difference, 118.33) and with higher risks for cesarean delivery, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, large-for-gestational-age infant, macrosomia, and neonatal intensive care unit admission (odds ratios, 1.37, 1.37, 1.77, 1.78, and 1.26, respectively) and lower risks for preterm birth and small-for-gestational-age infant (odds ratios, 0.71 and 0.69, respectively)."Our findings inform and support the pressing need for optimized, evidence-based World Health Organization international GWG reference standards based on individual patient data, with applicability across the full body mass index range in a diverse global population," the authors write.Abstract/Full TextEditorial.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Adverse Outcomes Seen With Gestational Weight Gain Outside Recommendations

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