Table 1.
Characteristics of patients with Class III obesity who delivered at term before or after implementation of a policy of delivery at 39 weeks gestation.
| Pre-Policy Change (n=580) | Post-Policy Change (n=630) | p | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maternal Age (years) | 27.5 ± 5.8 | 28.2 ± 5.5 | 0.05 |
| Gestational Age (days) | 275.4 ± 8.2 | 273.8 ± 7.3 | 0.0003 |
| Body Mass Index (kg/m2) | 46.1 ± 5.7 | 45.6 ± 5.3 | 0.06 |
| Race/Ethnicity | 0.14 | ||
| White | 290 (50.0) | 334 (53.0) | |
| African American | 116 (20.0) | 118 (18.7) | |
| Hispanic | 142 (24.5) | 129 (20.5) | |
| American Indian | 23 (4.0) | 28 (4.4) | |
| Other | 9 (1.6) | 21 (3.3) | |
| Payor Status | 0.10 | ||
| Commercial | 161 (27.8) | 202 (32.1) | |
| Government/Self | 419 (72.2) | 428 (67.9) | |
| Nulliparousa | 180 (31.0) | 176 (27.9) | 0.24 |
| Prior Cesarean | 132 (22.8) | 201 (31.9) | 0.0004 |
| Chronic Hypertensionb | 122 (21.0) | 131 (20.8) | 0.92 |
| Gestational Hypertension | 71 (12.2) | 117 (18.6) | 0.002 |
| Preeclampsia | 0.06 | ||
| Severe | 33 (5.7) | 38 (6.0) | |
| Not Severe | 35 (6.0) | 20 (3.2) | |
| Diabetes | 0.10 | ||
| Pregestational | 28 (4.8) | 46 (7.3) | |
| Gestational | 73 (12.6) | 64 (10.2) | |
| Fetal Growth Restrictionc | 0 (0.0) | 8 (1.3) | 0.008 |
| Labor Type | <0.0001 | ||
| Spontaneous | 203 (35.0) | 148 (23.5) | |
| Induction with cervical ripening | 159 (27.4) | 183 (29.0) | |
| Induction with oxytocin alone | 94 (16.2) | 127 (20.2) | |
| Pre-labor cesarean delivery | 124 (21.4) | 172 (27.3) | |
Abbreviations used: kg=kilogram, m=meter.
Body mass index at the time of delivery is reported.
Data are reported as mean ± standard deviation or n (%) and analyzed using Student’s t test, Fisher’s exact test, Wilcoxon rank sum test, or chi-square test, as appropriate.
a
Defined as women without a prior delivery at or beyond 20 weeks gestation
b
All maternal medical and obstetrical comorbidities defined as diagnosed clinically and documented in the medical record
c
Defined as estimated fetal weight by ultrasound of less than the tenth percentile for gestational age