The maternal and fetal impacts of obesity and gestational diabetes on pregnancy outcome

Obesity has reached pandemic proportions and is of growing concern worldwide. Adverse health outcomes associated with a raised body mass index present the greatest challenge currently facing clinicians across all disciplines. Obesity is a chronic illness which is associated with metabolic disease, nutritional deficiency, musculoskeletal complications and cancer. These obesity-related health issues extend to pregnancy where they are responsible for producing a variety of medical and obstetric complications resulting in an increased incidence of maternal and fetal adverse outcomes. Management of diet, gestational diabetes and gestational and inter-gestational weight may improve outcomes in women who are obese during pregnancy. Specific recommendations for the management of obesity in pregnancy have recently been published. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.