Relationship between pre-pregnancy maternal BMI and optimal weight gain in singleton pregnancies

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Why is it important?

This is the seminal paper, study mad in Reunion island (Indian Ocean) in 2018, published in Heliyon (Open source of the Lancet and Cell) [4] considering the pre-pregnancy maternal BMI5] in underweight, normal, overweight, obesity class I, obesity class II and III. Then looking at the corresponding maternal gestational weight gain (GWG), the obtained respective 10% crossing points of SGA (small for gestational age) and LGA (large for gestational age) in our neonatal population at term for each category of maternal body sizes, we obtained a linear curve. When speaking of linear curve, it is easy to translate it into a formula y = mx+b ]. This has been confirmed in 2022 for twin gestation in the JAMA in the US National Perinatal database of 200,000 twin pregnancies [(the linear curve for twin pregnancies give for each category of body size approximately a GWG higher by 6 kg as compared with our curve in singletons) . If the international community decided to adopt as a prerequisite rationale for optimal gestational weight gain in women in their respective population that the final goal is to achieve to have a normal shaped neonatal population (appropriate for gestational age, AGA), the solution is achievable immediately. FURTHER this approach allows to lower by 40% the incidence of late onset preeclampsia, rate of c-section, rate of macrosomic babies (4kg+, harmful cicumstance for the long term future of these individuals) and Large for gestational age (LGA) newborns .