Maternal early pregnancy body mass index and pregnancy outcomes among nulliparous women registered in tertiary care hospital and urban slum hospital of a metropolitan city

BACKGROUND: Underweight is still prevalent in developing countries like India. Prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) is used as the standard against which the measurements are made in pregnancy. AIM: To study the association between early pregnancy BMI and feto-maternal outcome among nulliparous women METHODOLOGY: This is a prospective observational study, with a sample size of 294. The antenatal patients were categorized into four categories of BMI according to the WHO classification, and pregnancy outcomes were compared. Data were analyzed using SPSS Software Version 17.0. Statistical tools used were percentages and mean, and categorical variables were analyzed by Chi-square statistics. RESULTS: 48.94% of the patients enrolled in the study had normal early pregnancy BMI, and 44.22% and 6.8% were underweight and overweight, respectively. Obese women who gained more weight were at a higher risk of preterm delivery, cesarean section, and more time required for resumption of normal routine. Underweight women were at higher risk of postterm delivery, low birth weight, and increased hospital stay. CONCLUSION: Adverse maternal and fetal outcomes are seen more commonly with the extremes of BMI.