Pregnant women who are obese or overweight are at an increased risk of complications, such as needing cesarean sections, developing gestational diabetes and even the dangerous high blood pressure known as preeclampsia. Diet and exercise, researchers say, can help them safely control their weight gain during pregnancy.
But there is a catch.
The women in a recent study who lost weight about 4 pounds on average after they were at least nine weeks into their pregnancies did not have fewer obstetric complications. Researchers are concluding that to lower their risk of complications, women may have to change their behaviors before or immediately after they conceive.
By the time these women are already in the second trimester, it may already be late to change important outcomes, said Alan Peace-man, lead author and chief of maternal fetal medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.