Maternal morbidity and anthropometric parameters as predictors of newborn weight: a regional perspective

Objective - to investigate the combined influence of maternal diseases during pregnancy and preconception anthropometric parameters (BMI) on the weight of newborns from a regional perspective.

Materials and methods. A retrospective single-center observational study was conducted using data from 5477 pregnant women monitored at the Kirov Regional Clinical Perinatal Center between 2016 and 2022. Two main groups were identified: women with diseases (n = 1243) and women without diseases (n = 4234). Additionally, participants were stratified based on BMI levels (below normal, normal, elevated). Cases involving multiple pregnancies, obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²), and incomplete data were excluded. The statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, ANOVA, multiple linear regression, and logistic regression.

Results. The study demonstrated that maternal diseases-including hypertensive disease, preeclampsia, diabetes mellitus, SARS-CoV-2 infection, and fetoplacental insufficiency-significantly reduced the weight of the newborn (p<0.001). A low BMI (< 18.5 kg/m²) intensified the negative effects of these diseases, thereby increasing the risk of delivering infants with hypotrophy. Conversely, an elevated BMI (25.0-29.9 kg/m²) was associated with an 8-10% increase in newborn weight, partially counterbalancing the adverse influence of maternal diseases.

Conclusion. Maternal diseases and BMI are crucial factors determining newborn weight. The identified association underscores the importance of a personalized approach to pregnancy management, including meticulous health monitoring and the optimization of maternal anthropometric parameters to reduce the risk of hypotrophy and enhance perinatal outcomes.

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