Obesity is a major risk factor for a long list of chronic and potentially deadly diseases. Now research reports that pre-pregnancy obesity may increase the risk of having babies with congenital heart defects. "Congenital heart defects are the most common types of birth defect, and among all birth defects, they are a leading cause of illness, death, and medical expenditures," states Edwin Trevathan, MD, MPH, director of the CDC′s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, in a news release. "Women who are obese and who are planning a pregnancy could benefit by working with their physicians to achieve a healthy weight before pregnancy."
The study, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, investigated the relationship between pre-pregnancy obesity and congenital heart defects. Researchers at the CDC′s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities analyzed data of 6,440 babies with and without birth defects enrolled in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study from 1997 through 2004. They conducted a telephone survey of the babies' mothers obtaining their pre-pregnancy weight, height and other lifestyle information.
The researchers found that women who were overweight before pregnancy had a 16% increased risk of having a baby born with heart defects, compared to women with a normal BMI (body mass index). Furthermore, women who were severely obese before pregnancy had a 31% increased risk of having a baby born with heart defects,
"These results support previous studies, as well as provide additional evidence, that there is an association between a woman being overweight or obese before pregnancy and certain types of heart defects," says researcher Suzanne Gilboa, epidemiologist at CDC′s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, in a news release. "This provides another reason for women to maintain a healthy weight. In addition to the impact on a woman′s own health and the known pregnancy complications associated with maternal obesity, the baby′s health could be at risk."
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