Diets between pregnancies put babies at risk

Women who follow the celebrity trend of excessively losing weight after giving birth could be putting their unborn child at risk the next time they become pregnant, doctors warn today.
They said that new mothers who go on crash diets in between pregnancies were more likely to have a premature baby than those whose weight remained stable or increased.

Celebrities likes Victoria Beckham and Elizabeth Hurley, who regained their figures within weeks of giving birth, have been blamed for putting pressure on new mothers to lose weight quickly.

But researchers, writing in the British Medical Journal, found that women whose body mass index (BMI) fell by five or more units between pregnancies had a higher risk of giving birth prematurely. Dropping five BMI units is roughly the equivalent of a 5ft 6in woman losing 2st (from a BMI of 32 to 27).

The effect was heightened among women who had already experienced one premature birth.

Almost half of extremely premature babies that make it home from hospital are likely to have severe or moderate rates of disability and learning difficulties. Most born under 26 weeks do not survive and, of those who do, only 20 per cent will be completely unaffected by the age of six.

The team also found that new mothers who excessively gained weight between pregnancies were putting their unborn child at risk.

They examined a Swedish study of 207,534 women from the beginning of their first pregnancy to the beginning of their second, and reported that those whose BMI increased by just one or two units had a higher risk of pre-eclampsia, one of the most dangerous complications of pregnancy, and diabetes.

A rise of more than three BMI units "significantly" increased the risk of stillbirths.

Dr Jennifer Walsh, a specialist registrar in obstetrics and gynaecology at Coombe Women`s Hospital in Dublin, and Deirdre Murphy, a professor of obstetrics at Trinity College, University of Dublin, and Coombe Women`s Hospital, urged women to maintain a healthy weight before, during and after pregnancy.

"Women of reproductive age are bombarded with messages about diet, weight, and body image," they said.

"There is growing concern on the one hand about an epidemic of obesity, and on the other about a culture that promotes `size zero` as desirable, irrespective of a woman`s natural build."

They added: "Pregnancy is one of the most nutritionally demanding periods of a woman`s life, with an adequate supply of nutrients essential to support foetal wellbeing and growth.

"With at least half of all pregnancies unplanned, women need to be aware of the implications of their weight for pregnancy, birth, and the health of their babies."

sections: Nature & Health