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Gestational weight gain in twin pregnancies and maternal and child health: a systematic review

Journal of Perinatology volume 34, pages 252–263 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

Our objective was to systematically review the data interrogating the association between gestational weight gain (GWG) and maternal and child health among women with twin gestations. We identified 15 articles of twin gestations that studied GWG in relation to a maternal, perinatal or child health outcome and controlled for gestational age at delivery and prepregnancy body mass index. A positive association between GWG and fetal size was consistently found. Evidence on preterm birth and pregnancy complications was inconsistent. The existing studies suffer from serious methodological weaknesses, including not properly accounting for the strong correlation between gestational duration and GWG and not controlling for chorionicity. In addition, serious perinatal outcomes were not studied, and no research is available on the association between GWG and outcomes beyond birth. Our systematic review underscores that GWG in twin gestations is a neglected area of research. Rigorous studies are needed to inform future evidence-based guidelines.

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Figure 1

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Acknowledgements

This project was supported by an NIH Grant R01 NR014245 (PI: L Bodnar and J Hutcheon).

Authors Contribution

LMB, BA and JAH designed the research; LMB, SJP and JAH reviewed the literature; LMB and JAH wrote the paper; SJP, BA and KPH assisted with the data interpretation and critically edited the paper. All authors read and approved the final manuscript; LMB had primary responsibility for final content.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    L M Bodnar & S J Pugh

  2. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    L M Bodnar & K P Himes

  3. Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    L M Bodnar & K P Himes

  4. Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    B Abrams

  5. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    J A Hutcheon

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  1. L M Bodnar
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Correspondence to L M Bodnar.

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Bodnar, L., Pugh, S., Abrams, B. et al. Gestational weight gain in twin pregnancies and maternal and child health: a systematic review. J Perinatol 34, 252–263 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2013.177

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