THE IMPACT OF MATERNAL OBESITY ON MOTHER AND NEONATAL HEALTH: STUDY IN A TERTIARY HOSPITAL OF ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN

This study was aimed to investigate the impact of maternal obesity on mothers and their neonatal health. Our study population consisted of 157 women with completed singleton pregnancies, which included both obese (Body mass index, BMI≥30) and non-obese women (BMI<30). Data were collected from case histories, and ante- and postnatal records at the tertiary hospital in Astana, Kazakhstan between January and February of 2008. Associations between pregnancy and delivery-related complications, outcomes, and maternal obesity were estimated as odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using a logistic regression model. Women aged 30 years or more were at higher risk of obesity (OR=3.1, 95% CI=0.8–11.6) than women less than 30 years old. Multiparous women were also at higher risk of obesity (OR=4.1, 95% CI=0.9–19.6) than primiparous ones. Obese women were also more likely to have longer hospital stays of more than 10 days (OR=2.2, 95% CI=0.8–6.2), and were more prone to eclampsia/pre-eclampsia (OR=24.7, 95% CI=2.2–44.8), cesarean sections (OR=2.1, 95% CI=0.7–6.2), and abnormal labor (OR=8.1, 95% CI=1.0–63.8) compared to non-obese women. Neonatal complications such as pneumonia (OR=3.4, 95% CI=0.6–20.2) and fetal macrosomia (OR=2.2, 95% CI=0.6–8.0) were also more common among babies born to obese mothers. Congenital baby birth defects were strongly associated with maternal obesity (P=0.016). We concluded that maternal obesity is associated with increased risks of both maternal and neonatal complications, and that such risks increase with advanced age and parity of the mother. Hence, medical practices must take these complications into account by ensuring an adaptable and early management in order to improve mothers and their neonatal health.