Background: Representative data on pregnancy weight-gain patterns from developing countries are scarce. The reasons include difficulties in obtaining population-based samples and in collecting data before and throughout pregnancy.
Objective: The objective was to measure weight-gain patterns from prepregnancy until after delivery in a population-based sample of rural Indonesian women.
Design: Two cross-sectional surveys of nutritional status among nonpregnant women of reproductive age were carried out through a surveillance system in Purworejo District, Central Java, Indonesia, in 1996 and 1997. Between 1996 and 1998, 846 newly pregnant women were enrolled in a cohort study in which weight was monitored monthly throughout pregnancy. Prepregnancy weights and other anthropometric measures were available for 251 of the women who had live births.
Results: Before pregnancy, 16.7% of the women had chronic energy deficiency and 10.0% were obese. The mean total pregnancy weight gain for all the women was 8.3 +/- 3.6 kg, and 79% did not meet the international recommendation regarding weight gain for their prepregnant body mass index. The rate of weight gain was highest during the second trimester (0.34 kg/wk). In the first and third trimesters, it was 0.08 and 0.26 kg/wk, respectively. Total weight gain was associated with prepregnant body mass index, education, and socioeconomic status.
Conclusions: Many women in rural Central Java, Indonesia, enter pregnancy with suboptimal nutritional status. For most of these women, total weight gain during pregnancy is insufficient. It is likely that this contributes to adverse health outcomes for both the mothers and their newborns.