Do low-income women attain their pre-pregnant weight by the 6th week of postpartum?
OBJECTIVE
To assess the proportion of women attaining pre-pregnant weight, and to ascertain the predictors of amount of retained weight at 6 weeks postpartum, in a tri-ethnic sample of low-income women.


METHODS
Short-term longitudinal design from post-delivery to 6 weeks postpartum.


METHODS
419 African-American, Hispanic, and White women receiving perinatal care funded by Medicaid.


METHODS
Proportion of women attaining pre-pregnant weight at 6 weeks postpartum; the amount of weight retained at 6 weeks postpartum.


RESULTS
Fifteen percent of women attained their pre-pregnant weight at 6 weeks postpartum. In multiple regression analysis, maternal weight gain during pregnancy was the predominant predictor (B=.88, SE=.02, P=.000). Hispanic ethnicity (B=.69, SE=.33, P=.039) and the interaction between maternal weight gain and gestational length (B=-.04, SE=.02, P=.032) made small, independent contributions to amount of retained weight at 6 weeks postpartum. The interaction of ethnicity and maternal age predicted 1.3% of the variance in retained weight, but this was not significant. Health practices were not associated significantly with the amount of weight retained at 6 weeks postpartum.


CONCLUSIONS
The majority of women did not return to their pre-pregnant weight by 6 weeks postpartum. The amount of retained weight after delivery is largely influenced by prenatal maternal weight gain.
School of Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78701-1499, USA. lwalker-admin@mail.nur.utexas.edu
Lorraine O
LO
Walker
Gayle M
GM
Timmerman
Bobbie Sue
BS
Sterling
Minseong
M
Kim
Pat
P
Dickson
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000502:physiology; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008484:Medicaid; D010298:Parity; D011181:Postnatal Care; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000502:physiology*; D011203:Poverty / Q000208:ethnology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*