Excessive Weight Gain during Pregnancy and Prognosis of Childbirth in Douala (Cameroun)

The objective was to describe the maternofetal outcome of childbirth in women with excessive weight gain during pregnancy. We conducted a cross-sectional analytical study over a period of 03 months in the Obstetrics Department of Laquintinie Hospital in Douala (HLD). Our study population consisted of any pregnant in labor or waiting for a caesarean section. We compared two groups of pregnant women with excessive weight gain during pregnancy (exposed) and those without excessive weight gain during pregnancy (unexposed). We recorded 240 pregnant women who gave birth at the HLD maternity, 59 of whom had excessive weight gain during pregnancy, which gave us a proportion of 24.6%. The only sociodemographic characteristic associated with excessive weight gain during pregnancy was the married marital status of the pregnant women (OR: 2.0 (1.1 - 3.8) P = 0.023). Pregnant women with maternal complications associated with excessive weight gain had an average elevated uterine height of 35.4 (P = 0.007). The increase in caesarean section rate (P = 0.094) and the onset of pregnancy-related hypertension (HTA) showed differences close to significance (P = 0.063). Mean birth weight was higher (P = 0.023) in pregnant women with excessive weight gain during pregnancy. Ultimately, excessive weight gain during pregnancy has deleterious effects on the course of pregnancy and childbirth. It promotes the onset of pregnancy HTA and macrosomia.