Guideline No. 391-Pregnancy and Maternal Obesity Part 1: Pre-conception and Prenatal Care

Abstract

Objective: This guideline will review key aspects in the pregnancy care of women with obesity. Part I will focus on pre-conception and pregnancy care. Part II will focus on team planning for delivery and Postpartum Care.

Intended users: All health care providers (obstetricians, family doctors, midwives, nurses, anaesthesiologists) who provide pregnancy-related care to women with obesity.

Target population: Women with obesity who are pregnant or planning pregnancies.

Evidence: Literature was retrieved through searches of Statistics Canada, Medline, and The Cochrane Library on the impact of obesity in pregnancy on antepartum and intrapartum care, maternal morbidity and mortality, obstetrical anaesthesia, and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Results were restricted to systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials/controlled clinical trials, and observational studies. There were no date or language restrictions. Searches were updated on a regular basis and incorporated in the guideline to September 2018. Grey (unpublished) literature was identified through searching the websites of health technology assessment and related agencies, clinical practice guideline collections, clinical trial registries, and national and international medical specialty societies.

Validation methods: The content and recommendations were drafted and agreed upon by the authors. Then the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Committee peer reviewed the content and submitted comments for consideration, and the Board of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) approved the final draft for publication. Areas of disagreement were discussed during meetings, at which time consensus was reached. The level of evidence and quality of the recommendation made were described using the Evaluation of Evidence criteria of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care.

Benefits, harms, and costs: Implementation of the recommendations in these guidelines may increase obstetrical provider recognition of the issues affected pregnant individuals with obesity, including clinical prevention strategies, communication between the health care team, the patient and family as well as equipment and human resource planning. It is hoped that regional, provincial and federal agencies will assist in the education and support of coordinated care for pregnant individuals with obesity.

Guideline update: SOGC guidelines will be automatically reviewed 5 years after publication. However, authors can propose another review date if they feel that 5 years is too short/long based on their expert knowledge of the subject matter.

Sponsors: This guideline was developed with resources funded by the SOGC.

Summary statements: RECOMMENDATIONS.

Keywords: Caesarean birth; Pregnancy; fetal ultrasound; fetal/neonatal morbidity; gestational weight gain; labour and delivery; maternal morbidity; maternal obesity; stillbirth; vaginal birth; vaginal birth after Caesarean; venous thromboembolism; weight loss surgery; wound disruption.