Obesity and pregnancy. An epidemiological and intervention study from a psychosocial perspective.

Maternal obesity and excessive gestational weight gain are both importanthealth care issues contributing to increased perinatal complicationsin the short, medium and long term for both the mother and herinfant.

The epidemiological and psychological characteristics of maternal obesity andrelated socio-demographic and obstetrical correlates, provide evidence for a tailoredweight management strategy for obese women before, during and after a pregnancy.

In this doctoral thesis, we identify socio-demographic, obstetrical and psychologicalcharacteristics of maternal obesity, we  find evidence for beneficial outcomes of alifestyle intervention programme in obese pregnant women, and we find support forlonger term perinatal complications with postpartum weight retention between the first and second pregnancy.

Further development and implementation of preconceptionprogrammes based on a bio-psycho-social model that explicitly recognizes theindividual needs and interacting lifestyle factors in obese women of reproductiveage in order to prevent pre-pregnancy obesity, excessive gestational weight gain andpostpartum weight retention is a challenge for the near future.