Mom’s obesity tied to higher infant mortality
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Research shows that babies born to obese mothers are at increased risk for dying, particularly in the first weeks of life, compared to babies born to normal-weight mothers.
Given high infant mortality rates in the US as compared to other developed nations, the researchers say, if the results are confirmed, “obesity prevention should be explored as a measure to reduce infant mortality.”
Obese pregnant women are known to be at greater risk of fetal death, while there is also some evidence that death rates are higher among babies born to obese women, according to Dr. Aimin Chen of Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska and colleagues.
To investigate the relationship in more detail, the researchers compared records for 4,265 babies who died in infancy and 7,293 surviving babies, using data from the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey.
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