A study published in the Medical Journal of Australia earlier this month showed that almost two-thirds of pregnant women living in a rural area were overweight or obese. This is twice the rate of overweight and obese pregnant women than in metropolitan areas and the researchers suggest the high rate in rural areas has implications for funding, pregnancy and maternity outcomes and perinatal mortality rates.
Spanning six year from 1 January 2005 until 31 December 2010, the study analysed Goulburn Valley Health’s (GVH) maternity service.
GVH predominantly services the Shepparton community in Victoria’s north-east and has a population of more than 60,000. It is an area known as one of Australia’s most important food producing regions which is famous for its pears, stone fruit, apples and dairy products.
Data contained in GVH’s database was accessed including demographics, height, weight and antenatal information, as well as data on the delivery and immediate postnatal period and neonatal outcomes.
According to the study, 65.6% of all pregnant women in the GVH region were overweight or obese, registering a BMI of 18.5kg/m2or higher. The BMI is calculated by taking an individual’s weight in kilograms and dividing it by that individual’s height, squared.
Previous Australian studies have reported the prevalence of overweight and obesity in urban obstetric populations as 18% in Perth and 34% Brisbane. This study was initiated as a result of concern about higher levels of pregnancy overweight and obesity in rural Victoria.
“Extensive research has identified overweight and obesity as significant risks for poor obstetric and perinatal outcomes,” write the study’s authors, Chris Cunningham and Associate Professor Glyn Teale of the University of Melbourne.
“Overweight and obesity are believed to impact on the birth process with increased rates of inductions, operative deliveries and technical problems with anaesthetics, as well as increased rates of wound breakdown in mothers and longer lengths of hospital stay,” the report states.
The study found that and increased BMI was found to correlate with increased complications for both the mother and child. These complications included increased rates of:
- Inductions of labour
- Pregnancy-induced hypertension
- Operative vaginal deliveries
- Caesarean sections
- Gestational age at delivery
- Birth weight
While the data perhaps does not reveal a significant increased likelihood of perinatal death or transfer to neonatal intensive care for women who were classed as overweight or obese, the researchers suggest that complications specific to the mother were more likely.
“Maternal outcomes in this study are similar to those in previous reports [of this nature], again highlighting the strong association between excess weight and maternal complications such as diabetes, hypertension and operative delivery,” note the authors in their conclusion.
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