Table 3.
Comparison of clinical characteristics, parameters collected from the medical history of participants and answers of the German version of EMat Health Survey between pre-pregnancy BMI categories
| Underweight BMI <18.5 kg/m2 (N = 13) | Normal-weight BMI 18.5–24.9 kg/m2 (N = 198) | Overweight BMI 25–29.9 kg/m2 (N = 97) | Obesity BMI ≥30 kg/m2 (N = 81) | Statistics | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years (SD) | 29.8 (5.9) | 32.2 (5.1) | 32.4 (5.1) | 31.5 (5.7) | F = 2.076, df = 3, p = 0.103 |
| Number of children, mean (SD) | 1.5 (0.7) | 1.6 (1.0) | 2.1 (1.3) | 1.8 (1.1) | F = 5.842, p < 0.001 |
| Gestational age at birth, weeks (SD) | 38.9 (2.0) | 38.9 (2.0) | 38.8 (1.8) | 38.4 (2.1) | F = 1.261, df = 3, p = 0.288 |
| Number of examinations, mean (SD) | 11.1 (3.5) | 11.2 (2.6) | 10.8 (2.0) | 10.8 (2.9) | F = 0.840, df = 3, p = 0.473 |
| Number of ultrasounds, mean (SD) | 4.3 (2.4) | 3.9 (1.6) | 3.9 (1.5) | 4.1 (1.7) | F = 0.482, df = 3, p = 0.695 |
| Pre-pregnancy BMI, kg/m2 (SD) | 17.5 (0.9) | 21.9 (1.7) | 27.1 (1.3) | 34.5 (4.3) | F = 594.778, p < 0.001 |
| End of pregnancy BMI, kg/m2 (SD) | 23.0 (1.8) | 27.3 (2.6) | 32.3 (2.3) | 39.0 (4.6) | F = 318.364, p < 0.001 |
| GWG, kg (SD) | 15.6 (4.9) | 14.8 (5.3) | 14.3 (6.1) | 12.3 (7.8) | F = 3.484, p = 0.016 |
| Obesity diagnosed by obstetrician, n (%) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.5) | 7 (7.4) | 37 (46.3) | χ2 = 119.927, df = 3, p < 0.001 |
| Special mental stress (e.g., family- or work-related), n (%) | 0 (0) | 13 (6.6) | 5 (5.3) | 10 (12.5) | χ2 = 0.643, df = 3, p = 0.686 |
| Special social stress (e.g., integration or financial issues), n (%) | 1 (7.7) | 9 (2.3) | 7 (7.4) | 7 (8.8) | χ2 = 1.127, df = 3, p = 0.589 |
| GWG according to IOM guidelines, n (%) | χ2 = 37.617, df = 6, p < 0.001 | ||||
| Below | 3 (23.1) | 46 (23.2) | 13 (13.4) | 14 (17.3) | |
| Within | 6 (46.2) | 79 (39.9) | 19 (19.6) | 13 (16.0) | |
| Above | 4 (30.8) | 73 (36.9) | 65 (67.0) | 54 (66.7) | |
| kg GWG below IOM criteria mean (SD) | −3.2 (1.1) | −3.2 (2.3) | −2.5 (1.1) | −3.1 (3.5) | F = 0.908, p = 0.132 |
| Excess kg GWG above IOM criteria, mean (SD) | 3.2 (2.6) | 4.1 (4.0) | 6.1 (4.2) | 7.2 (6.1) | F = 4.908, p = 0.003 |
| Underweight (N = 10) | Normal-weight (N = 111) | Overweight (N = 43) | Obesity (N = 38) | Statistics | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results of participants answering the questionnaire (N = 202) | |||||
| Planned pregnancy, n (%) | 9 (90) | 96 (86.5) | 39 (90.7) | 24 (63.2) | χ2 = 18.563, df = 9, p = 0.029 |
| Self-identified pre-pregnancy weight category, n (%) | χ2 = 156.525, df = 10, p < 0.001 | ||||
| Underweight | 5 (50.0) | 8 (7.3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Normal-weight | 5 (50.0) | 100 (90.9) | 29 (67.4) | 4 (11.1) | |
| Overweight | 0 (0) | 2 (1.8) | 13 (30.2) | 29 (80.6) | |
| Obesity | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3 (1.5) | |
| Received information about GWG from obstetrician, n (%) | 3 (30.0) | 39 (35.1) | 13 (30.2) | 17 (44.7) | χ2 = 2.070, df = 3, p = 0.558 |
| Self-defined GWG goal, n (%) | 3 (42.9) | 30 (41.7) | 11 (35.5) | 9 (39.1) | χ2 = 0.377, df = 3, p = 0.945 |
| Reported change in eating habits during pregnancy, n (%) | χ2 = 10.407, df = 9, p = 0.319 | ||||
| Unhealthier | 5 (50.0) | 20 (18.2) | 8 (18.6) | 8 (21.6) | |
| No change | 2 (20.0) | 45 (40.9) | 22 (51.2) | 15 (40.5) | |
| Healthier | 2 (20.0) | 39 (35.5) | 13 (30.2) | 12 (32.4) | |
| Don’t know | 1 (10.0) | 6 (5.5) | 0 (0) | 2 (5.4) | |
| Reported to have consumed more calories during pregnancy, n (%) | 6 (60.0) | 62 (57.4) | 24 (55.8) | 12 (32.4) | χ2 = 7.433, df = 3, p = 0.059 |
| Concerns about weight gain during pregnancy, n (%) | χ2 = 26.168, df = 12, p = 0.010 | ||||
| Never | 8 (80.0) | 74 (67.3) | 16 (37.2) | 20 (52.6) | |
| Rarely | 2 (20.0) | 18 (16.4) | 12 (27.9) | 7 (18.4) | |
| Sometimes | 0 (0) | 11 (10.0) | 10 (23.3) | 2 (5.3) | |
| Frequently | 0 (0) | 4 (3.6) | 4 (9.3) | 5 (13.2) | |
| Always | 0 (0) | 3 (2.7) | 1 (2.3) | 4 (10.5) | |
| Women’s assumption of recommended GWG, n (%) | χ2 = 71.244, df = 9, p < 0.001 | ||||
| 5–9 kg | 0 (0) | 2 (1.8) | 5 (11.6) | 17 (44.7) | |
| 7–11 kg | 3 (30.0) | 17 (15.5) | 16 (37.2) | 12 (31.6) | |
| 11–16 kg | 4 (40.0) | 63 (57.3) | 18 (41.9) | 7 (18.4) | |
| 13–18 kg | 3 (30.0) | 28 (25.5) | 4 (9.3) | 2 (5.3) | |
| Marital status | χ2 = 2.447, df = 6, p = 0.829 | ||||
| Single | 4 (44.4) | 36 (35.6) | 6 (16.7) | 8 (27.6) | |
| Married | 5 (55.6) | 61 (60.4) | 30 (83.3) | 18 (62.1) | |
| Widowed | 0 (0) | 1 (1.0) | 0 (0) | 2 (6.9) | |
| Divorced | 0 (0) | 3 (3.0) | 0 (0) | 1 (3.4) | |
| Educational level | χ2 = 6.917, df = 6, p = 0.329 | ||||
| 9 years | 0 (0) | 7 (6.9) | 3 (8.6) | 0 (0) | |
| 10 years | 2 (22.2) | 31 (30.7) | 11 (31.4) | 14 (50.0) | |
| ≥12 years (finished high school) | 7 (77.8) | 63 (62.4) | 21 (60.0) | 14 (50.0) | |
The first column represents clinical characteristics, parameters collected from the medical history of participants and answers of the questionnaire. The second to fifths column show the BMI groups in comparison to WHO classification. The sixth column shows the statistic of investigated groups.
SD, standard deviation; T, size of the difference relative to the dispersion; F, the ratio of two variances; df, number of degrees of freedom; χ2, chi-square; p, p value. Different superscripts indicate significant differences between groups in Tukey B post hoc test. Correct answer for the weight category underlined.