Maternal obesity is obesity, often including being overweight, of a woman during pregnancy.

• Affects maternal metabollism, including insulin resistance, disrupting glucose homeostasis, fat oxidation and amino acid synthesis, thereby affecting offspring development

• Lifestyle modification, including:
  • Diet alteration, although dieting should not occur during pregnancy because sufficient nutrition is important for women planning, and in pregnancy. Sugar should be reduced as it is associated with excessive weight gain, nausea and constipation
  • Regular moderate exercise, e.g. walking → weight loss, help the comfort of the mother, and wellbeing of the child, reduced back pain, decreased constipation, less likely to gain excess weight, decreased risk of GDM, easier labor, quicker recovery, better physical and emotional health of the baby
  • Gastric bypass surgery → appetite reduction

• BMI>30 → obesity. Those who are BMI 25-30 are considered "overweight" but there is considered to be no increased obstetric risk

Source: NSW Health

• BMI>=30 increases stillbirth 2x, BMI>=35 increases stillbirth 3x

• Maternal HTN
• Maternal proteinuria
• Maternal diet
• Maternal smoking
• Maternal alcohol
• PCOS (seen in women of high BMI, although by the nature of being amenorrheic, are infertile)