Patterns of Women's Postpartum Weight Retention and Its Associations with Maternal Obesity-Related Factors and Parity

Background: There is not much data on the effects of the timing of gestational weight gain (GWG), pre-pregnancy waist circumference (WC), pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), and parity, with postpartum weight retention (PPWR) trajectories.

Methods: This study was based on a longitudinal cohort. Latent growth mixture models were applied to identify the latent trajectories of PPWR and test the effects of the predictors on distinct classes of PPWR trajectories.

Results: Three PPWR trajectories were identified. About 2.8% (n = 26) of women were classified into Class 1, with an inverted U-shape trajectory; 6.6% (n = 61) were assigned to Class 2, with a rapid increase trajectory; 90.6% (n = 837) were classified into Class 3, with a significant decrease. Women who had a lower pre-pregnancy BMI (β = -0.279), higher pre-pregnancy WC (β = 0.111) and GWG (β = 0.723) were at a higher risk of retaining more weight at 1 month postpartum. Only GWG, especially GWG during late pregnancy, was associated with the rate of PPWR change. Parity was not associated with the changes in PPWR, while, compared to Class 1 trajectory, multiparous women were protected from having a Class 2 trajectory.

Conclusions: Early targeted interventions should be taken to prevent women who were primiparous, and/or had a lower pre-pregnancy BMI and higher pre-pregnancy WC and GWG, from excessive PPWR.