Contents:
- Medical Video: Obesity and Pregnancy
- This risk increases if the mother has high blood pressure in the second trimester of pregnancy
- This risk also applies even to mothers who do not suffer from hypertension
- The importance of maintaining blood pressure during pregnancy
Medical Video: Obesity and Pregnancy
Hypertension, aka high blood pressure during pregnancy can pose a dangerous risk for the mother and the baby. According to a recent study, high blood pressure in pregnant women can increase the risk of obesity in their children.
Obesity in childhood has become a global health crisis. The World Health Organization estimates that there are 42 million children under the age of five who are classified as overweight or obese. This number has increased a lot since 1990 with only around 32 million children.
A number of factors can be the cause of the increased risk of a child being overweight, including prenatal factors, lifestyle, genetic factors, birth weight, and nutritional intake. Obesity in childhood can increase the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and bone and muscle abnormalities.
This risk increases if the mother has high blood pressure in the second trimester of pregnancy
Researchers from Qingdao University used data from 338,413 registered mother-child pairs from 1999 to 2013. Mothers visited the clinic regularly during pregnancy, where mothers underwent blood pressure measurements and other examinations. The children also regularly check height and weight.
From the results of these studies, it was found that mothers who experience high blood pressure during the second trimester of pregnancy have a 49 percent greater risk of having children who are overweight, compared with children born to mothers with normal blood pressure.
In addition, children born to mothers who have hypertension in the third trimester of pregnancy have a 14% greater risk of being overweight.
This risk also applies even to mothers who do not suffer from hypertension
In women who do not suffer from hypertension, blood pressure in the first trimester of pregnancy does not affect the risk of obesity in their child.
However, in the second and third trimester of pregnancy, any increase in systolic blood pressure (first number) of 10 mmHg will increase the risk of obesity in children by 5 percent, and each increase in diastolic blood pressure (second number) by 10 mmHg will increase the risk of obesity in children as much as 6 percent.
This increased risk of obesity still occurs even in mothers who do not suffer from hypertension.
The risk of obesity increases especially if:
- mother's age is still too young during pregnancy
- the mother has a high BMI (check whether your BMI is normal or not at BMI Calculator this or at bit.ly/indeksmassatubuh)
- mothers experience first menstruation (menarche) too early
- mother's education level is low
- this is the first pregnancy
- children born by caesarean section
The importance of maintaining blood pressure during pregnancy
The results of this study provide new knowledge about the relationship of high blood pressure during pregnancy with the risk of childhood obesity. Researchers say these results are in line with several previous studies, and add new evidence that increased blood pressure in the second and third trimesters is associated with an increased risk of obesity, although it occurs in women who are not hypertensive.
Researchers also suggest that monitoring and controlling blood pressure during the second and third trimester of pregnancy is very important, not only for pregnancy outcomes, but also to prevent obesity in children born.
Mothers are advised to monitor and avoid things that can increase their blood pressure during pregnancy, and it is recommended to consult a doctor if the mother experiences a significant increase in blood during pregnancy.
