A new study has found that weight gain between pregnancies is bad for mum and baby.

Just this week a new study found more women are affected by obesity, than men which is a switch from what the statistics were two years ago.

Weight gain during pregnancy can be a divisive subject, but it’s important to look at the results from the studies to understand the effects. The moment we become pregnant, we want the best health for ourselves and our baby.

The research has suggested women who are overweight and obese during pregnancy face a higher risk of complications including gestational diabetes and preeclampsia.

While the studies very much share those results, every woman I have known who has had gestational diabetes (I need two hands to count them) have been in the healthy weight range.

Babies born to obese women with have a lower Apgar test which is given 5 minutes after babies are born to determine breathing or heart problems. Low scores on the test don’t necessarily predict the health of the child, but maternal obesity increases newborns’ risk for adverse outcomes.

The research looked into the BMI of a pregnant woman’s first and second pregnancies to see if this would influence complications with baby and mother later on. The demographic information used for the study was taken from more than 500,000 mothers who had their first and second births between January 1992 and December 2012. They also made a note of Apgar test scores, and the mother’s and babies’ measurements and proportions.

The studies found that adverse outcomes in infants occurred in mothers whose BMI increased by 2 or more units.

To the researcher’s knowledge, this is the first time a study has been done on the matter.

The lead author of the study, Martina Persson concluded, “Given the high prevalence of maternal overweight and the possible long-term consequences of birth asphyxia, our results have substantial public health relevance, as even modest weight increases in normal weight women may impact offspring outcomes on a population level. ”

The outcome to the study may result in encouraging women to normalize BMI before pregnancy, and avoid putting on excessive weight during pregnancy to improve infant health.

As a mum to three girls, I read the results of these studies and want to say bullocks to the lot because all three of my girls are healthy despite a 30kg weight gain between my first two pregnancies. It would take me 18 months to ‘lose the baby weight’, by which time I was ready to get pregnant again and see that weight start to slowly pile on.

My obstetrician never weighed me during my visits and when I asked him why, he said, if you put it on, you’re going to have to work it all off. I’m not sure if that answered my question, but I was happy with the response because I was reluctant in giving up the odd daily Magnum and soft drink.

My third pregnancy saw me put on the least weight because I couldn’t keep a lot of food down.

Two years on from that pregnancy and I am still 15kg heavier than I’d like to be, but this year I have made weekly habits to watch what I eat and increase my daily exercise. So far I’ve noticed a change in shape and a few kgs have been lost. It’s important for me to be an example to my daughters of what healthy living looks like.

My encouragement when reading studies like these about obesity and weight gain between pregnancies, is not to get defensive about the results as sometimes they can be quite convicting and sometimes controversial.

The best way of attack around the study results is to talk to your doctor about the recommended healthy weight gain for your pregnancy and to make a plan to put your health and that of your future baby’s as a priority.

What is your reaction to studies around weight gain during pregnancy? Is this something we should discuss?