Relationship between prenatal care, maternal factors and childs weight at birth

Abstract

Introduction: The prenatal managing is important both for the development of pregnancy as the mother’s well being, being the nutritional care a promising ally to optimize fetal growth. Objective: This study aimed to examine maternal characteristics, pregnancy and childbirth and correlate them with nutritional status before pregnancy and the child’s weight at birth of mothers from SUS. Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study with 173 live born in singleton pregnancies. Results: The results showed high prevalence of pre-pregnancy overweight / obesity and its relation with the birth of macrosomic newborns and greater number of cesarean deliveries. Conclusion: The increased maternal age and the high number of children from former pregnancies contributed to this prevalence, reinforcing the importance of prenatal exam and the nutritional evaluation before pregnancy.