Abstract
Overweight and obesity have become a public health problem that has been increasing globally since the last decades. Many health complications associated with obesity have been described, such as arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cerebrovascular events, some cancers, among others. In women, obesity has negative effects on fertility due to metabolic and hormonal disorders related to polycystic ovary syndrome and oligo or anovulation. During pregnancy, multiple associated complications have also been documented for both the mother and the developing fetus, which is the focus of this review. Obese pregnant women are more prone to gestational loss, hypertensive disorders such as preeclampsia, metabolic disorders like carbohydrate intolerance or gestational diabetes, thromboembolic events, fetal growth disorders especially fetal macrosomia, which in turn leads to a higher incidence of birth trauma, higher caesarean delivery rate, among others. Various strategies have been proposed to detect and quantify the obstetric risks associated with maternal obesity, as well as recommendations to manage it and minimize said complications. Healthy eating and physical activity continue to be the mainstay of treatment for obesity in pregnant women.
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Copyright (c) 2023 Andrea Valverde Araya, Melissa Chavarría Alvarado, Sigrid Cubero Garcia