Routine weighing in pregnancy.

Routine weighing of women in pregnancy has been a part of formal antenatal care since its inception more than 50 years ago.' Like other aspects of antenatal screening, however, weighing has largely escaped the critical assessment to which more recently introduced screening procedures have been subject.2 Doubts have recently been raised about the efficacy and desirability of continuing to weigh all pregnant women at every antenatal appointment.' II The reasons for routine weighing are unclear: not only have different reasons for its use been advanced at different times and by different people but none has been supported by convincing theoretical or clinical evidence. Some of the commonest justifications for weighing are discussed below.