Prevalence and factors associated with excessive weight gain in pregnancy in health units in the southwest of Bahia.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of excessive gestational weekly weight gain and to identify its association with demographic, socioeconomic, obstetric, anthropometric, and behavioral characteristics.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 328 pregnant women attending all health units in the urban area of Vitória da Conquista, Bahia. The data were collected from May 2010 to June 2011. The weekly weight gain was evaluated according to the current recommendations of the Institute of Medicine. The association among the studied factors and the excessive weekly weight gain was observed in pregnant women in the second and third trimesters, using the Poisson regression with robust variance.

Results: The prevalence rate of excessive weekly weight gain in pregnant women in the second and third trimesters was found to be 42.5%. The determinants of excessive weekly weight gain were family income < 1 minimum wage (PR: 2.65; 95%CI 1.18 - 4.83) and pregestational weight status overweight/obesity (PR: 1.33; 95%CI 1.01 - 1.75).

Conclusion: The results emphasize the importance of monitoring the weight gain during pregnancy. The evaluation of the weekly weight gain enables early interventions with the goal of preventing the excessive total weight gain and its consequences for both the mother and the child.