Pregnancy Outcomes Based on Pre-Pregnancy Body Mass Index in Japanese Women.

OBJECTIVE: To verify whether body mass index (BMI) classification proposed by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) is valid in Japanese women. METHOD: A study was conducted in 97,157 women with singleton pregnancies registered in the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (JSOG) Successive Pregnancy Birth Registry System between January 2013 and December 2013, to examine pregnancy outcomes in four groups stratified by pre-pregnancy BMI category according to the 2009 criteria recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The groups comprised 17,724 underweight women with BMI <18.5, 69,126 normal weight women with BMI 18.5-24.9, 7,502 overweight women with BMI 25-29.9, and 2,805 obese women with BMI ≥30. The pregnancy outcomes were also compared among subgroups stratified by a gestational weight gain below, within, and above the optimal weight gain. RESULTS: The higher the pre-pregnancy BMI, the higher the incidences of pregnancy-induced hypertension, gestational diabetes mellitus, macrosomia, cesarean delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, and post-term birth, but the lower the incidence of small for gestational age (SGA). In all pre-pregnancy BMI category groups, excess gestational weight gain was associated with a higher frequency of large for gestational age and macrosomia; poor weight gain correlated with a higher frequency of SGA, preterm birth, preterm premature rupture of membranes, and spontaneous preterm birth; and optimal weight gain within the recommended range was associated with a better outcome. CONCLUSION: The BMI classification by the IOM was demonstrated to be valid in Japanese women.

Expectant management of severe preeclampsia with severe fetal growth restriction in the second trimester.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether women with severe fetal growth restriction (FGR <5th percentile) associated with severe preeclampsia (PE) occurring in the second trimester are candidates for expectant management. STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective study involving 33 women who developed severe PE or superimposed PE in the second trimester and were expectantly managed at a tertiary center. They were divided into groups with and without severe FGR on admission (severe FGR (+) group: 17 women; severe FGR (-) group: 16 women) for comparison of the duration of pregnancy prolongation, major maternal complications, and perinatal outcomes. The data are presented as medians (range) or frequencies (percentage). RESULTS: The duration of pregnancy prolongation was 10days in both groups. Major maternal complications occurred in 5 of 17 women (29.4%) in the severe FGR (+) and 5 of 16 (31.3%) in the severe FGR (-) group, showing very similar incidence rates in the 2 groups. The perinatal survival rates were favorable at 82.4% (14/17) in the severe FGR (+) and 100% (16/16) in the severe FGR (-) group. CONCLUSION: Regarding expectant management of severe preeclampsia occurring in the second trimester, there was no difference in the duration of pregnancy prolongation between the groups with and without severe FGR on admission. Because favorable perinatal outcomes can be expected without compromising maternal safety by prolonging pregnancy as expectant management for severe FGR, it was suggested that women with severe FGR are suitable candidates for expectant management.