Clinical and nutritional aspects in high-risk pregnant women interned in a reference center in Recife, Pernambuco

Introduction: Pregnancy is a period of multisystemic changes in the body that lead to an increase in nutritional needs. Several risk factors can be triggered by nutritional sta-tus, such as hypertension, gestational diabetes, inadequate weight gain, among others.Objective: To describe and evaluate the clinical and nutri-tional aspects of high-risk pregnant women.Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out in a referral hospital in the city of Recife (Pernambuco) with 87 pregnant women hospitalized in the high-risk wards of the Centro de Atencao a Mulher (CAM). The association between the variables, nutritional status and weight gain was performed using the chi-square test or Fisher's exact test for categorical variables.Results: In the 2nd trimester of pregnancy, there was an increase in the pre-gestational Body Mass Index (BMI), com-pared to the current one, in thin, eutrophic and overweight pregnant women, while the obese had a current BMI higher than the pre-gestational BMI. While in the 3rd trimester, over-weight and obese pregnant women showed an increase in their current BMI compared to pre-pregnancy. Discussion: The assessment of pre-gestational nutritio-nal status in the second trimester showed a high prevalence of overweight and obesity. The presence of this condition explains the inadequate weight gain, since thin and over-weight pregnant women showed a decline in their current BMI. In the group of obese pregnant women, the weight gain may have been excessive and remained high in the third trimester.Conclusion: Excessive weight gain is associated with un-favorable pregnancy outcomes such as the presence of dia-betes and hypertension. The present study demonstrated a relationship between weight gain and the emergence of co -morbidities, highlighting the importance of nutritional monito-ring throughout pregnancy.