Abstract

Maternal BMI directly or indirectly indicates maternal health and wellbeing. Birth weight of the baby is an important determinant of the neonate’s wellbeing. A total of 150 women who had delivered at a tertiary care hospital fulfilling the inclusion criteria were studied. They were classified into underweight, average weight, overweight according to the BMI noted in the first trimester. 22 women (14.7%) were underweight having BMI less than 18.5 kg/m2. 97 women (64.7%) belonged to the average weight group with BMI between 18.5 kg/m2 to 25 kg/m2. 31 women (20.7%) belonged to the overweight group with BMI more than 25 kg/m2. In the underweight group, 13 (59.1%) had underweight babies, 9 (40.9%) had appropriate for gestational age babies and there were no large for gestational age babies. In the average weight group, 22 (22.7%) had underweight babies, 72 (74.2%) had appropriate for gestational age babies and 3 (3.1%) had large for gestational age babies. In the overweight group, 6 (19.4%) had underweight babies, 17 (54.8%) had appropriate for gestational age babies while 8 (25.8%) had large for gestational age babies. Correlation of maternal BMI and birth weight of the babies was found to be statistically significant. Underweight mothers had significantly more chance of having a small for gestational age baby as compared to the average weight mothers. Overweight mothers have significantly more chance of having a large for gestational age baby as compared to average weight mothers.

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