Review article: Maternal obesity in pregnancy: is it time for meaningful research to inform preventive and management strategies?

The growing epidemic of obesity in our society has become a major public health issue, with serious social and psychological consequences in addition to the physical health implications. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally with a similar rise in prevalence among women in the reproductive age group. This has critical consequences for fetal and maternal health in the antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum periods. The aims of this study were to summarise the implications of maternal obesity on maternal, fetal and neonatal health and to recommend good practice guidelines on the management of this problem. The authors highlight the need for good quality interventional research on maternal obesity while identifying avenues with potential scope for future research in this context.