Gestational Weight Gain in Japanese Women With Favorable Perinatal Outcomes

BACKGROUND: We examined the optimal gestational weight gain (GWG) in the healthy Japanese women with favorable perinatal outcomes of singleton pregnancy. METHODS: We calculated the average GWG in the women whose height was 150 - 164 cm with favorable perinatal outcomes set for this study. The women were categorized to underweight, normal, overweight and obese based on the pre-pregnancy body mass index categories according to the Institute of Medicine guideline. RESULTS: The average GWG in the normal-weight women with the favorable perinatal outcomes was 11.4 ± 3.7 kg. It was not significantly different from that in the underweight and overweight women (12.0 ± 3.4 and 10.0 ± 4.8 kg) by Student’s t-test. The average GWG in the obese women was significantly lower than that in the other three groups (3.2 ± 2.2 kg, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Based on the current results, the optimal GWG for the Japanese women without obesity was found to be 10 - 12 kg.