Maternal prepregnancy body mass index and psychomotor development in children.

Background: In a prospective study, the association between maternal nutritional status and psychomotor development of low-income African-American children was evaluated. We hypothesized that low maternal body mass index (BMI) would predict worse neurodevelopmental status in children, while higher maternal BMIs would be associated with better neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Methods: Psychomotor tests for general intelligence and motor skills were given to 355 children at a mean age of 5.