Birth No. 2 brings a weighty issue

MUMS pregnant with child number two or more are at greater risk of “dangerous” weight gain, research has found.

The Deakin University study found women who had already had one child were entering pregnancy at much greater weights.

Deakin’s Professor Helen Skouteris said women who gained excessive weight during pregnancy were more than three times as likely to retain weight after birth compared with those who did not gain excessive weight.

“Each successive birth adds an average of one kilogram of postpartum body weight above what would normally be gained with age,” Prof Skouteris said.

“This is most likely because they haven’t lost the weight from their previous pregnancy. “But we can see that it’s resulting in them having a greater chance of being in an unhealthy weight range

during pregnancy, and then finding it even harder to get the weight off when the baby is born.”

Prof Skouteris said the findings were an important reminder that old-fashioned advice for mums to eat and rest was outdated.

“You’re not eating for two, and unless ordered by your doctor, you don’t need to put your feet up all day,” she said.

“These kinds of old wives’ tales are not relevant today.

“Women today are a different generation from those hardlabouring women in past generations. Most women are now very sedentary in the workplace and there is an abundance of unhealthy food that is easily accessible.”

Prof Skouteris said there needed to be a greater awareness of pregnancy weight issues.

“In Australia, approximately 50 per cent of women enter pregnancy overweight or obese and between 40 and 60 per cent of women will gain weight excessively during pregnancy,” she said.

“There has to be some recognition that this is snowballing out of control. And this is a serious issue because it can lead to very significant pregnancy complications like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, delivery complications, and maternal and childhood obesity.”

The research reviewed 17 studies examining pre-pregnancy body mass indexes, gestational weight gain and post-partum weight gain for first time mums compared with women in their subsequent pregnancy.

The research came as Deakin climbed into the world’s top 300, universities, according to QS World University Rankings, putting it in the top 1.1 per cent.

“This is a serious issue because it can lead to very significant pregnancy complications ... “ DEAKIN PROFESSOR HELEN SKOUTERIS