Obesity Facts (Apr 2013)

Maternal Obesity and Pre-Pregnancy Folic Acid Supplementation

  • Nadine Farah,
  • Cormac Kennedy,
  • Ciara Turner,
  • Vicky O'Dwyer,
  • Mairead M. Kennelly,
  • Michael J. Turner

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1159/000350393
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6, no. 2
pp. 211 – 215

Abstract

Read online

Objective: The purpose of this nested cohort study was to compare the rate of pre-pregnancy supplementation in obese women with that of women with a normal BMI. Methods: Pregnant women were enrolled at their convenience in a large university hospital. Weight and height were measured in the first trimester and BMI categorised. Results: Of the 288 women, 35.1% were in the normal, 29.5% in the overweight and 35.4% in the obese BMI categories. Only 45.1% (n = 46) of the obese women took pre-pregnancy folic acid compared with 60.4% (n = 61) of women with a normal BMI (p Conclusions: Obese women should take folate supplements whether they are planning to conceive or not.

Keywords