Abstract

Author(s): Soares, Ana Paula Costa1; Costa, Taciane Cavalcanti Silva da1; Cavalcanti, Rafaella de Andrade Silva2

Introduction: Pregnancy is a time when women undergo many physical, psychological, social and cultural changes. Among physical changes, weight gain is one of the most common and is associated with the occurrence of comorbidities.

Objective: To analyze gestational weight gain and comorbidities present in puerperal women.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out at the maternity ward of Hospital Agamenon Magalhães, Northeast Brazil. Data collection took place from October to November 2019, with women from 19 years of age onwards, excluding women who had postpartum depression or were unable to answer the survey. Socioeconomic and anthropometric data were collected. The database and statistical analysis were performed using the Statistical Parcktage for the Social Sciences.

Results: 129 puerperal women with an average age of 27.3 ± 6.01 years were evaluated. Most puerperal women had gestational systemic arterial hypertension (n = 82, 63.56%). During pregnancy, there was a significant reduction in the percentage of eutrophic women and a significant increase in the prevalence of overweight, when overweight and obesity were evaluated together (p = 0.00). There was a statistically significant association between weight gain during pregnancy with schooling and the gestational age of the mothers at the time of delivery.

Conclusion: The high prevalence of overweight among young puerperal women contributed to the occurrence of a high number of comorbidities, especially gestational systemic arterial hypertension.