Table 4.

Associations between early-pregnancy body mass index category and maternal health outcomes by meta-analyses based on the effect estimated in multivariable-adjusted regression in the MNCH and PreSSMat cohorts in Matlab, Bangladesh

BMI category*	Pregnancy-induced hypertension	Cesarean section	Perineal tear (2nd degree or more)†	Postpartum hemorrhage†
	OR (95% CI)‡	OR (95% CI)‡	OR (95% CI)‡	OR (95% CI)‡
Underweight	0.67 (0.50-0.90)	0.63 (0.55-0.73)	1.00 (0.64-1.56)	1.11 (0.77-1.61)
Normal-weight§	1	1	1	1
Overweight	2.41 (1.95-2.99)	2.12 (1.86-2.41)	2.46 (1.54-3.92)	1.68 (1.12-2.53)

BMI – body mass index, OR – odds ratio, CI – confidence interval

*BMI category: underweight (<18.5 kg/m²), normal-weight (18.5-24 kg/m²), and overweight (≥25 kg/m²).

†Analysis limited to women with vaginal delivery.

‡Pooled adjusted odds ratio using fixed effect model.

§Reference category.