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Background: In socially vulnerable populations, evidence is needed regarding the role of maternal nutritional status on child weight during the first 2 years of life. Objectives: We aimed to assess the association of pre‐pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) with offspring BMI‐for‐age z‐scores (BAZs) during the first 2 years of life. Methods: A population‐based birth cohort study was conducted with 900 mother–child pairs. Pre‐pregnancy weight and weight at delivery were collected from medical records, and anthropometric data were measured at birth and at 6‐month, 1‐year and 2‐year follow‐up visits. Linear regression and linear mixed‐effect models assessed associations with pre‐pregnancy BMI, GWG and BAZ during the first 2 years of life. Results: Pre‐pregnancy overweight and obesity and excessive GWG were positively associated with BAZ at birth and at 1‐ and 2‐year follow‐up visits. There were no significant additional BAZ changes per year based on the exposures up to age 2 years. Conclusions: Elevated maternal pre‐pregnancy BMI and GWG were associated with a child's higher BAZ at birth, and these differences remained constant throughout the first 2 years of life in Amazonian children. These findings highlight the importance of promoting adequate maternal weight before pregnancy and during prenatal care also in socially vulnerable populations. Key points: Pre‐pregnancy overweight and obesity and excessive gestational weight gain were associated with child's higher BMI‐for‐age z at birth, and these differences remained constant throughout the first 2 years of life in Amazonian children.Strategies that promote adequate maternal weight before and during pregnancy are necessary in socially vulnerable populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the association between gestational weight gain (GWG) and perinatal outcomes in pregnant Amazonian women. Methods: Data from 1305 mother–child pairs from the MINA-Brazil population-based birth cohort study were used. GWG was classified according to two methods, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines and INTERGROWTH-21st standards. Poisson and linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate associations with perinatal outcomes. Results: Following IOM guidelines (n = 1305), the rates of insufficient and excessive GWG were found to be similar (32%). Excessive GWG was associated with higher new-born birthweight (BW) z-scores; increased risks of macrosomia, large for gestational age (LGA), and caesarean delivery; and lower risks of low birthweight (LBW) and being small for gestational age (SGA). Insufficient GWG was associated with lower new-born BW z-scores. Among women with normal pre-pregnancy body mass indices (BMIs, n = 658), inappropriate GWG was high following both methods (IOM: 41.2% insufficient, 24.8% excessive; INTERGROWTH-21st: 25.2% below − 1 z-score, 16.9% above 1 z-score). Both methods also indicated that new-borns of women with excessive GWG had higher BW z-scores and increased risk of macrosomia and LGA. Women with GWG below the INTERGROWTH-21st standards were more likely to deliver an infant SGA and with lower BW z-scores. Conclusions: Inappropriate GWG remains a health concern irrespective of the method used to classify weight gain. GWG above the recommendations of both methods and below the INTERGROWTH-21st standard was associated with adverse perinatal outcomes. Therefore, INTERGROWTH-21st standards seem to be a better fit for healthy women in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]