It is recommended that prenatal care include nutrition counseling; however, <70% of women report receipt of nutrition counseling during pregnancy. In this study, we aimed to characterize prenatal nutrition counseling (PNC) among large-for-gestational age deliveries at a low-income and minority-serving hospital by performing a retrospective chart review of infants with a birth weight > 4000 g. Of the 2380 deliveries, 165 met the inclusion criteria. Demographics, PNC receipt, and pregnancy outcomes were compared among normal-weight (NW; BMI: 18.5-24.9 kg/m2, 19%, n = 31), overweight (OW; BMI: 25-29.9 kg/m2, 29%, n = 48), and obese (OB; BMI > 30 kg/m2, 52%, n = 86) women. The majority (78%, n = 129) of women were Hispanic White with a mean age of 30.4 ± 5.7 yrs and gestational weight gain of 12.1 ± 5.8 kgs. A total of 62% (n = 103) of women received PNC. A total of 57% gained above the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations (n = 94). OB women were 2.6 and 2.1 times more likely to receive PNC than OW (95% CI: 1.1-2.0) and NW (95% CI: 0.9-1.9) women, respectively. Women who gained within the IOM recommendations for their pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) were 50% less likely to receive PNC than women who gained above the IOM recommendations for their pre-pregnancy weight (χ = 4.45, p = 0.035; OR = 0.48, CI: 0.24 to 0.95). Infant birthweight was significantly higher among women who received PNC (4314 ± 285 vs. 4197 ± 175 g, p = 0.004). These data suggest that PNC was directed toward women who enter pregnancy in the obese weight category and/or gain excessively across gestation. Future studies should provide PNC to all women to evaluate whether it reduces the risk of delivering large-for-gestational age deliveries across all maternal weight categories. Additionally, more work is needed to identify the types of PNC that are most effective for this high-risk population.
Keywords: fetal growth; infant; nutrition; obesity; pregnancy.