Objective: To explore the effects of maternal pre-pregnancy obesity on infant development.
Methods: Pre-pregnancy obese pregnant women who gave birth in Wuqiang County Hospital from October 2017 to October 2021 were selected, and pregnant women with normal weight before pregnancy were matched by propensity score. A total of 206 pregnant women were included, including 103 in the pre-pregnancy obesity group and 103 in the pre-pregnancy normal weight group. The basic characteristics of pregnant women and birth information of newborns were investigated through hospital medical record system. The weight and length were measured at birth, at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months of age. The mixed effects model was used to analyze the effects of pre-pregnancy obesity on infant development.
Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in maternal age, education level, gestational age, birth time and sex of the newborn(P>0.05). The birth weight of the obese group was significantly higher than that of the normal weight group(3541.89 g vs.3296.60 g, P<0.01). The result of repeated measurement analysis showed that after adjusting for maternal age, gestational weight gain, delivery mode and newborn sex, the effects of pre-pregnancy obesity and infant age on infant body mass index for age Z-score(BAZ), weight for length Z-score(WLZ) and weight for age Z-score(WAZ) were statistically significant(P<0.05). However, maternal obesity and infant age did not affect the level of length for age Z-score(LAZ)(P>0.05). The mean values of BAZ, WLZ and WAZ in the obese group were 0.434, 0.422 and 0.316 higher than those in the normal weight group, respectively.
Conclusion: Maternal pre-pregnancy obesity increases BAZ, WLZ and WAZ of the offspring in infancy.
Keywords: infant development; mixed effects model; pre-pregnancy obesity.