Obesity in the Jamaican parturient

ABSTRACT

The reproductive performance of one hundred obese negro women was compared with that of an equivalent number of negro women of average weight. The main hazards of obesity were hypertension and diabetes mellitus. The incidence of prolonged labour was not increased, and there was a low incidence of prematurity. The infants were significantly larger in the obese group but despite this, disproportion seldom occurred. The obese patients gained less weight antenatally, and lost more in the puerperium, than the controls. There was an age-related difference in mean antenatal weight-gain and puerperal weight-loss in the obese, but not in the controls.(Summary)