Weight gain during pregnancy and its associated factors: A Path analysis.
Mahrokh Dolatian, Nasibeh Sharifi, Zohreh Mahmoodi and 3 others
PMID 32802378WHAT IT FOUND
In 734 pregnant women, 49.6% had sufficient weight gain, 28.7% too little, and 21.7% too much.
Food insecurity, social support, and prenatal care were associated with weight gain, but not proven causes.
Key findings
0149.6% of women had sufficient weight gain, 28.7% had insufficient weight gain, and 21.7% had excessive weight gain.
02Food insecurity, social support, and prenatal care differed significantly across weight gain groups, and food insecurity was reported as linked to excessive weight gain.
03Mother's age, prenatal BMI, and prenatal care had direct associations with weight gain, while food insecurity, stress, anxiety, depression, pregnancy-specific stress, and domestic violence had indirect associations.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study observed associations and did not assign an intervention, so it cannot show that food insecurity, social support, stress, anxiety, depression, pregnancy-specific stress, domestic violence, or prenatal care caused weight gain. It was conducted in one province in Iran, and all participants were Iranian, with 81.6% reported as Kurdish, so the findings may not apply to other populations. Many exposures were measured by self-report questionnaires, and the authors noted that the large number of questionnaires took a long time to complete. The paper did not report how many eligible women declined or were excluded after sampling, so the final sample of 734 women may not represent all eligible women. The paper did not name a primary outcome, so it is unclear which result should be treated as the main finding. The path analysis depended on the authors' model, and the paper does not show that the model establishes causal pathways.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of SBMU and was a PhD dissertation with grant number SBMU.REC.1394.112.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that increasing prenatal care, food security, or social support will make weight gain normal. The study observed associations in pregnant women and did not test any intervention, so it cannot show that these factors caused weight gain.