May pregestational body mass index be related to mother's psychological and physical condition during pregnancy?

Introduction: pregestational Body Mass Index (BMI) affects mother's health during and after pregnancy and is related to negative outcomes such as low birth weight and preterm birth. Higher pregestational BMI may increase anxiety, stress and depression. Objectives: to assess potential differences on stress, psychopathological symptoms and physiological variables during pregnancy, among pregnant women with normal pregestational BMI rates and high pregestational BMI rates. Methods: a sample of 156 pregnant women were longitudinally assessed during the three trimesters of pregnancy. They were divided into two groups: a group with normal pregestational BMI rates (n = 115) and a group with high pregestational BMI rates (n = 41). Stress levels, psychopathological symptoms, blood pressure and glucose blood levels were assessed. Results: in the first trimester, significant differences were found between groups regarding pregnancy-specific stress and some of the SCL-90-R subscales (depression, paranoid ideation and global wellness index). In the second trimester, there were differences regarding pregnancy-specific stress and some of the SCL-90-R subscales (somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, paranoid ideation and the general scales, global wellness index and symptoms free). In the third trimester, there were differences between groups regarding perceived stress and some of the SCL-90-R subscales (somatization, anxiety and the general scale symptoms free). Significant differences were found between groups on diastolic blood-pressure in the first trimester, and systolic and diastolic blood-pressure in the third trimester. Conclusions: higher pregestational BMI is related to higher psychological stress, higher psychopathological symptoms and elevated blood-pressure during pregnancy.