Table 1.
Characteristics of 93 pregnant African American women who participated in an observational study on gestational weight gain between 2008–2012
| Characteristics | n (%) |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Age (years) | |
| •18 < 20 | 22 (24) |
| • 20–30 | 63 (68) |
| • >30–36 | 8 (8) |
|
| |
| Education level | |
| • Some elementary school | 4 (4) |
| • Some high school | 38 (41) |
| • Completed high school | 30 (32) |
| • Beyond high school | 21 (23) |
|
| |
| Parity | |
| • Primigravida | 26 (28) |
| • Multigravida | 67 (72) |
|
| |
| Length of gestation | |
| • Preterm (<37 weeks) | 11 (12) |
| • Term (≥ 37 weeks) | 82 (88) |
|
| |
| Marital status | |
| • Married | 7 (7) |
| • Single with partner | 64 (69) |
| • Never married, no partner | 21 (23) |
| • Separated | 1 (1) |
|
| |
| Health insurance type | |
| • Public | 84 (90) |
| • Private | 9 (10) |
|
| |
| Pre-pregnancy/early pregnancy BMIa ( kg/m2) | |
| • normal weight | 28 (30) |
| • overweight | 28 (30) |
| • obese | 37 (40) |
|
| |
| Gestational weight gain based on IOMb guidelines (full-term only; n = 82) | |
| • under-gain | 14 (17) |
| • appropriate gain | 22 (27) |
| • over-gain | 46 (56) |
|
| |
| Mean (SD) | |
|
| |
| Early pregnancy BMI (kg/m2) | 28.7 (5.5) |
|
| |
| Gestational weight gain (full-term only n = 82) (pounds) | 31.3 (16.3) |
|
| |
| Infant birth weight (full-term only ; n = 82) (grams) | 3181 (655) |
a
body mass index: early pregnancy BMI is BMI ≤ 14 weeks gestation
b
Institute of Medicine