Nutritional status and delivery in a cohort of pregnant women controlled in a CESFAM of Primary Health Care, Punta Arenas, Chile

In Chile, the group of pregnant women controlled in Primary Health Care has good adherence to prenatal controls and has favorable characteristics for the development of preg-nancy. However, high prevalence of overweight and obesity and chronic pathologies that could be associated with excess malnutrition of the pregnant woman are reported. Objective: To characterize pregnant beneficiaries of the Family Health Center (CESFAM) Dr. Thomas Fenton of the city of Punta Arenas, associating the nutritional condition at delivery and characteristics of the newborn. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional research. The universe consisted of 171 pregnant women under control between January 1, 2016 and July 31, 2017. The information was obtained from secondary source, from the anonymized database of the CESFAM prenatal control program. Results: The average weight at the beginning of pregnancy was 68.7 & PLUSMN; 17.1 kg, 76.6 & PLUSMN; 17.4 kg at 20 weeks and 75.2 & PLUSMN; 15 kg at term. The distribution of nutritional status at the beginning of pregnancy was: 5.2% were underweight, 34.2% had normal nutritional status, 26.9% were overweight and 33.5% were obese. In the postpartum evaluation the distribution was: 3.4% underweight, 24% normal, 36.8% overweight and 35.8% obese. In the group studied there were 57.7% of cesarean deliveries, and 67.2% of them occurred in overweight women. Obese women had newborns with a slightly higher average weight than those in the other nutritional categories. Discussion: The results are consistent with information from Chilean official sources and scientific evidence. Conclusions: The prevalence of overweight and obesity at the end of pregnancy was 72.6%. Overall, excess malnutrition increased 12.2% between the beginning and the end of pregnancy.