Obese mothers could be 'twice as likely to lose a child after giving birth' - and the risk increases the fatter a mother is

Babies born to obese women could be nearly two and a half times more likely to die soon after birth, new research has warned. 

The risk of the baby dying rises in proportion to the weight of the mother - an alarming finding given the soaring rates of obesity in developed countries.

The risk of infant death more than doubled when comparing normal weight mothers and the fattest mothers, who had a Body Mass Index (BMI) above 35.

A BMI of 30 or more is considered obese.

 Doctors warn that obese women are more likely to have a stillbirth, and cause problems for their baby such as birth defects (congenital abnormality) and a higher chance of health problems later in life, including obesity and diabetes.

During pregnancy they are also more likely to need interventions such as a forceps or vaccum delivery, or a caesarean section.

Scientists analysed more than 1.8 million births in Sweden over 18 years between 1992 and 2010 and found infants whose mothers were overweight or obese were being endangered.

A total of 5,428 infant deaths were recorded - 2.9 per 1,000 - with 11 per cent of them thought to be due to maternal overweight and obesity.

Two thirds of these occurred within the first 28 days of life with causes including birth defects (congenital abnormalities) and birth asphyxia (when a baby' s brain and other organs do not get enough oxygen before, during or right after birth).

The data also included infections and cot deaths – known as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Baby deaths increased in tandem as the mothers' BMI (body mass index) increased in early pregnancy, from 2.4 per 1,000 among normal weight women to 5.8 per 1,000 among the fattest.

Compared with infants of normal weight mothers, infant mortality risks were modestly increased in overweight and mildly obese mothers, while they more than doubled for those with a BMI above 35.

Previous research has suggested a BMI of 30 or more is associated with increased risk of infant mortality, but results have not been consistent.

So in a bid to get a definitive answer, the researchers recorded the participants as underweight (having a BMI of 18.4 or less), normal weight (18.5 to 24.9), overweight (25 to 29.9).

They then split obese mothers into three groups: obesity grade 1 (having a BMI of 30 to 34.9), obesity grade 2 (35 to 39.9) or obesity grade 3 (40 or over).

They estimated 11 per cent of infant deaths in the study were due to maternal overweight and obesity.

Professor Sven Cnattingius, of the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm said: 'Worldwide, overweight and obesity have rapidly become prevalent among young pregnant women.

'Our study needs to be replicated in other populations, and the pathways behind the association between maternal overweight and obesity and risk of infant mortality should be explored.

'But we also argue there is enough evidence for public health officials to act against the obesity epidemic to promote infant health.'

In the UK three in five adults are overweight or obese and Dr Katrine Mari Owe, of Oslo University Hospital, Norway, said babies do best when mothers have a normal body weight before and during pregnancy.

In an accompanying editorial, she wrote: 'Overweight and obesity are increasing among women of childbearing age worldwide.

'Consequently, a sizeable group of women begin pregnancy as overweight or obese, increasing the risk of complications in both mother and infant.

'Given the high prevalence of overweight and obesity worldwide and the gravity of the risks to the infant, further studies are needed to explore the risks to the infant associated with increased maternal BMI, along with large trials of interventions designed to reduce those risks.'  

dailymail.co.uk