Weight after childbirth: a 2-year follow-up of obese women in a weight-gain restriction program

Objective. To investigate the effects of a weight-gain restriction program on weight development or weight maintenance 2 years after childbirth. Design. A case-control intervention study. Setting. Antenatal care clinics in the southeast of Sweden. Sample. One hundred and fifty-five obese pregnant women who participated in a weight-gain restriction program with weekly support during pregnancy and every 6 months during the two first years after childbirth. The control group consisted of 193 obese pregnant women. Methods. Follow-up weight measurements were done at 12 and 24 months after childbirth. Main Outcome Measures. Weight change in kilogram at 12 and 24 months postpartum. Results. A greater percentage of women in the intervention group showed a weight loss 24 months after delivery than did women in the control group at that same time (p = 0.034). Women in the intervention group who gained less than 7 kg during pregnancy had a significantly lower weight than the controls at the 24 months follow-up (p = 0.018). The mean value of weight change in the intervention group was -2.2 kg compared to +0.4 kg in the control group from early pregnancy to the follow-up 12 months after childbirth (p = 0.046). Conclusions. An intervention program with weekly motivational support visits during pregnancy and every 6 months after childbirth seems to have an impact on weight gain up to 24 months after childbirth for those women in the intervention group who succeeded in restricting their gestational weight gain to less than 7 kg.