title: The usefulness of weight gain in predicting pregnancy complications.
abstract: The usefulness of recently constructed centile charts for weight gain during pregnancy was studied. The association of weight gain in pregnancy with pregnancy complications was investigated. The incidence of pre-eclampsia and small for gestational age babies both had a significant relationship with weight gain. Use of the charts to screen for pregnancy complications on a selected population had both a sensitivity and specificity of about 50 per cent. The positive and negative predictive values of the charts ranged from 49 to 53 per cent. The question arises as to whether the routine recording of maternal weight at each antenatal visit is necessary.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Tygerberg Hospital, South Africa.
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Theron
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D015430:Weight Gain