BE PREPARED: Pregnant women should take advantage of 10 free prenatal tests, as well as care services, to better manage their health and weight, the agency said

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 14, 2020
By: Wu Liang-yi, Dennis Xie and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writers

About 20 percent of women aged between 25 and 34 are overweight or obese, and the number rises to nearly 30 percent for women aged 35 to 39, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said, adding that pregnant women who are overweight have a higher risk of having babies significantly larger than average.

If a woman’s weight is below the advised level during pregnancy, the risk of the baby suffering malnutrition increases 53 percent and that of a preterm birth by 70 percent.

If the woman’s weight is above the level, it increases the risk of fetal macrosomia by 85 percent, research published in JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association showed.
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