Maternal Obesity Linked to Birth Defects

Pregnant women want healthy babies, and while all birth defects cannot be avoided, there may be certain things a woman can do to decrease the risk her baby will be born with a birth defect. A recent study, published in the August issue of Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine shows that maternal obesity before pregnancy is associated with specific birth defects.

The study, conducted by Kim Waller and her colleagues examined the prevalence of birth defects in babies of women who were and were not overweight or obese before becoming pregnant. More specifically Waller and her colleagues interviewed 10,249 women who gave birth to babies with birth defects between 1997 and 2002 and 4,065 women who gave birth to babies without birth defects during the same time period. The women interviewed were spread throughout eight states.

The researchers found that out of the 16 birth defects they studied, seven were associated with women who had been overweight or obese prior to becoming pregnant. Spina bifida, the most common neural tube defect in the United States, is one birth defect associated with pre-pregnancy obesity. Spina bifida is the incomplete development of the spinal cord, brain, and/or the protective coverings of the spinal cord and brain.

Diaphragmatic hernia, an opening in the diaphragm that allows stomach organs to come into the chest cavity, was also associated with pre-pregnancy obesity. The study showed that omphalocele, which occurs when the stomach organs protrude through the navel occurred more often in babies with obese mothers. Finally, obese mothers were also more likely to have babies with other birth defects such as small or missing fingers and toes, small or missing arms and legs, heart defects, an abnormally placed urethral opening in males, and malformation of the anal opening than mothers who had not been overweight prior to pregnancy.

This study's findings emphasize the importance of prenatal care for mothers. It also emphasizes that mothers should reach and maintain a healthy weight safely before becoming pregnant.