Are the Institute of Medicine recommendations for gestational weight gain appropriate for adolescents?
OBJECTIVE
To explore the use of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention body mass index percentiles for adolescents to classify adolescents for gestational weight gain recommendations.


METHODS
A descriptive study using secondary data analysis.


METHODS
Memphis, Tennessee.


METHODS
Three hundred forty-seven primiparous Black adolescents, aged 12 to 19 years, who delivered full-term infants.


METHODS
Adult and adolescent body mass index categories, gestational weight gain patterns, and neonatal birthweight.


RESULTS
Adolescents, especially smaller adolescents, were misclassified when the current Institute of Medicine adult body mass index categories were used to classify them for gestational weight gain when compared to the use of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention body mass index percentiles for adolescents as a gestational weight gain classification schema. Mean neonatal birthweights were similar no matter which schema was used. A large proportion of adolescents gained more than is recommended by the Institute of Medicine.


CONCLUSIONS
The current gestational weight gain recommendations based on adult body mass index categories may not be sufficiently specific to attain the best maternal and neonatal outcomes for adolescents. Creation of gestational weight gain recommendations based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention body mass index percentiles would potentially assist clinicians in counseling adolescents regarding gestational weight gain.
Groth
Susan
S
clinical nursing in the School of Nursing, University of Rochester, NY.. Electronic address: susan_groth@urmc.rochester.edu.
D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015982:Bias; D001724:Birth Weight; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002487:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; D003376:Counseling; D005260:Female; D006287:Health Planning Guidelines; D006801:Humans; D015969:National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, U.S., Health and Medicine Division; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009765:Obesity / Q000145:classification* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000145:classification* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000208:ethnology; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000502:physiology; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D013714:Tennessee / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology