Obese mother, baby easy heart defects

The mother is obese during pregnancy, the baby is born more at risk of heart defects, a US government study.

Women during pregnancy should have a reasonable diet.

Using birth data in New York State for more than a decade, researchers found that obese women who gave birth had an 11% higher risk of heart defects than pregnant women. normal weight.

Meanwhile, women who are obese, overweight or overweight 45kilo compared to the standard weight will have a 33% higher risk of having a baby with heart defects than women with normal weight. Factors such as age, race, education level and smoking habits are also recorded, but obesity is still associated with the risk of congenital heart defects.

Congenital heart defects are abnormalities in the heart structure that can be life threatening.

It is not yet known how obesity is associated with congenital heart defects.

Lead researcher, PhD. James L.Mills, American Institute of Child Health and Development, advises: 'Their findings suggest that obese women should actively lose weight before becoming pregnant'.

Previous studies have shown that maternal obesity is associated with a number of pregnancy complications and health risks in newborns such as brain and neural tube defects .

Source: Reuters