Obesity during pregnancy increases your baby's risk of cerebral palsy

A Swedish study published March 7 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that being overweight or obese in early pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of cerebral palsy in children born at term.

Researcher Eduardo Villamor from the University of Michigan said the Swedish national study found an increase in maternal overweight and obesity was associated with the incidence of cerebral palsy in offspring. This association was limited to children born at term and was mediated in part by asphyxia-related neonatal complications.

Despite improvements in perinatal care, reports show an increase in the incidence of cerebral palsy among children born to term between 1998 and 2006. Obesity in pregnant women is a risk factor for obstetric complications and complications related to neonatal asphyxia. Whether this factor affects the risk of cerebral palsy in future generations is unclear.

Therefore, Villamor and colleagues explored the association between early pregnancy obesity in pregnant women and the risk of cerebral palsy in their offspring, and any mechanisms involved. Researchers used Swedish medical birth record data from 1997 to 2011 to conduct a national retrospective cohort study of 1423929 single births. The researchers also sorted out the 2012 national diagnosis registration records of children with cerebral palsy.

Overall, during a median follow-up of 7.8 years, a total of 3029 children were diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

The researchers also found that increased levels of overweight (BMI between 25 and 29.9) and obesity (BMI≥30) in pregnant women during the first trimester were associated with increased incidence of cerebral palsy in their descendants. This correlation showed significant statistical significance only in children born at term (approximately 71% of all children with cerebral palsy).

Compared with children with normal weight mothers during pregnancy, the adjusted risk ratios for cerebral palsy increased gradually in children with mothers who were overweight during pregnancy (1.22), grade 1 obesity during pregnancy (1.28), grade 2 obesity during pregnancy (1.54), and grade 3 obesity during pregnancy (2.02).

The researchers also found that approximately 45% of the previous correlation between maternal BMI and full-term cerebral palsy was mediated by neonatal complications related to birth asphyxia.

Although the impact of obesity in pregnant women on the risk of cerebral palsy in future generations appears to be less significant than other risk factors, the authors emphasize that obesity rates are gradually increasing. In the United States alone, about half of pregnant women are overweight or obese at the time of their first prenatal checkup. Given the continued high incidence of obesity, the dose-response correlation between overweight and obesity in pregnant women and the incidence of cerebral palsy in future generations may have serious public health implications.

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