The Current Understanding of Gestational Weight Gain Among Women with Obesity and the Need for Future Research

Obesity aff ects many women of reproductive age in the United States.In 2009, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council published the report Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexamining the Guidelines, which recommends gestational weight gain guidelines based on pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and considers multiple maternal and child health outcomes in an eff ort to balance the risk and benefi ts of the amount of gestational weight gain for these outcomes in the short and long term.Since the publication of that report, more evidence has emerged about weight gain in pregnancy among women with class II obesity ) and class III obesity (BMI of 40 or greater).New evidence includes trends in weight gains and associated health outcomes, as well as promising interventions, including digital health tools and group prenatal care.Despite this emerging evidence, there are still many limitations and research gaps that need to be fi lled in order to properly care for pregnant women with obesity and their fetus/child.Interventions should be developed with the involvement and engagement of the communities they will serve.