US obstetrician-gynaecologist's prevention and management of obesity in pregnancy

Summary

A survey regarding management of obesity in pregnancy was mailed to 787 practising members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG); 433 responded of whom 353 practised obstetrics. Most (79.2%) had read ACOG Committee Opinion, ‘Obesity in Pregnancy,’ and rated it helpful (68.6%) or very helpful (17.2%). Most responding physicians (91.2%) use BMI to assess their patients weight status; fewer (63.4%) use pre-pregnancy BMI to modify their pregnancy weight gain recommendation. Having read the Committee Opinion and being a woman were independent factors associated with using pre-pregnancy BMI. Responding physicians that had read the Committee Opinion were more knowledgeable about obesity-related pregnancy complications; but even among those physicians, only 32.2% were aware that maternal obesity is a risk factor for fetal neural tube defects. The responding physicians appeared well-versed on appropriate practice for caesarean delivery for obese patients whether they had read the Committee Opinion or not.

Keywords:

• Maternal obesity
• BMI
• caesarean birth
• clinical practice guidelines