We all know that maintaining a healthy weight while pregnant and when trying to conceive is the smart thing to do. But scientists have now studied over 30,000 newborn babies in a recent trial to see if mum’s weight and blood-sugar levels have any impact on the size of a newborn, and the results are pretty interesting.
According to fit pregnancy.com, this research gets closer to understanding what exactly causes a mother’s weight to impact how big a baby is at birth, and also what that means for your child’s future health. This unique study used genetics instead of just relying on observations of the women’s weight.
The authors state that previous studies showed that mothers of a higher weight at the start of their pregnancy had babies who were more likely to be heavier, but it still wasn’t clear if the mum was the cause of her baby being bigger at birth.
The results of this study show clear evidence of overweight or obese mums with high blood-sugar levels will impact the baby’s size at birth while issues with low blood pressure can lead to smaller-than-average baby size at birth.
The authors of the study state: “In our study, we analysed a set of gene variants known to be associated with BMI, and we assigned a genetic score to each woman, based on how many BMI-raising variants she carried.”
Once they proved the cause and effect, the researchers asked the question why.
“Women who weigh more tend to have higher levels of glucose in their blood, and this extra sugar is one of the key factors linking a heavier mother to a heavier baby.”
The sugar causes the baby to produce more insulin, which acts a growth hormone.
We’re so divided about this topic on the HerFamily.ie desk – we all have our own stories plus many from other mums about the pressure of weight gain during pregnancy and the fear of having ‘big’ babies. It’s just another pressure you don’t need when you have so many other things to worry about before conception and during pregnancy. We’ve also heard of women ‘dieting’ during pregnancy, which has to be worse for your unborn child.
It goes without saying, routine prenatal visits, eating healthily and exercising moderately (if you can) are best for you and baby while you’re growing a little human. But, if you feel you are concerned about weight gain and exactly what is a normal BMI for your size, it’s best to chat to your GP or obstetrician.
