Obesity in Pregnancy: ACOG Practice Bulletin, Number 230.

Obstetrician-gynecologists are the leading experts in the health care of women, and obesity is the most common medical condition in women of reproductive age. Obesity in women is such a common condition that the implications relative to pregnancy often are unrecognized, overlooked, or ignored because of the lack of specific evidence-based treatment options. The management of obesity requires long-term approaches ranging from population-based public health and economic initiatives to individual nutritional, behavioral, or surgical interventions. Therefore, an understanding of the management of obesity during pregnancy is essential, and management should begin before pregnancy and continue through the postpartum period. Although the care of the obese woman during pregnancy requires the involvement of the obstetrician or other obstetric care professional, additional health care professionals, such as nutritionists, can offer specific expertise related to management depending on the comfort level of the obstetric care professional. The purpose of this Practice Bulletin is to offer an integrated approach to the management of obesity in women of reproductive age who are planning a pregnancy.
Competing Interests: All ACOG committee members and authors have submitted a conflict of interest disclosure statement related to this published product. Any potential conflicts have been considered and managed in accordance with ACOG’s Conflict of Interest Disclosure Policy. The ACOG policies can be found on acog.org. For products jointly developed with other organizations, conflict of interest disclosures by representatives of the other organizations are addressed by those organizations. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has neither solicited nor accepted any commercial involvement in the development of the content of this published product.
(Copyright © 2021 by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)