Conclusions
This study adds to the body of evidence that prepregnancy
BMI is a highly significant risk factor for the development of
important maternal complications of pregnancy and suggests
that risk begins in the overweight range and well before women
meet criteria for obesity. These findings have significant
implications for pregnancy planning recommendations and
support the importance of maintaining a healthy weight to
prevent major pregnancy complication. The impact of weight
loss before pregnancy on subsequent maternal risk for gestational
hypertension is not known and remains an important
area of future study.
Acknowledgments
This work was presented, in part, in San Diego, California,
at the 2006 Renal Week of the American Society of Nephrology.
Disclosure Statement
The authors have no conflicts of interest to report