title: Pre-pregnancy body mass index, maternal weight gain during pregnancy and risk of small-for-gestational age birth: results from a case-control study in Italy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the association between body mass index (BMI), gestational weight gain (GWG), and risk of small for gestational age (SGA) birth.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control study: cases included 555 women (mean age 31 years) who delivered SGA babies in two Italian clinics. Controls included women who gave birth at term to healthy infants of normal weight at the hospitals where cases had been identified.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Underweight women were at risk of delivering SGA babies (odds ratio, OR, 1.9, 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.6-2.4) and overweight women had a not significant lower risk (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.5-1.0). The risk of delivering an SGA baby was higher also for women with less than recommended GWG (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1-1.9), whereas gaining more than recommended weight was not significantly protective (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.5-1.0). The analysis in strata of BMI showed that GWG played a significant role, whereas in strata of GWG pre-pregnancy BMI seemed less important.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that achieving the adequate weight gain during pregnancy, as recommended by IOM, protects against the risk of delivering an SGA infant also in underweight women.
authors.affiliation: I Clinica Ostetrico Ginecologica, IRCCS Fondazione Policlinico Mangiagalli Regina Elena, Università di Milano, Milan, Italy. elena.ricci@unimi.it
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Parazzini
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chiaffarino
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cipriani
authors.forename: Gianpiero
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Polverino
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight / Q000502:physiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age / Q000502:physiology; D007558:Italy; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications; D050177:Overweight / Q000150:complications; D036801:Parturition / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult