Gestational Weight Gain Growth Charts Adapted to Japanese Pregnancies Using a Bayesian Approach in a Longitudinal Study: The Japan Environment and Children's Study - PubMed Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 May 5;33(5):217-226.
doi: 10.2188/jea.JE20210049. Epub 2022 Feb 11.

Gestational Weight Gain Growth Charts Adapted to Japanese Pregnancies Using a Bayesian Approach in a Longitudinal Study: The Japan Environment and Children's Study

Naho Morisaki  1 , Aurélie Piedvache  1 , Seiichi Morokuma  2   3 , Kazushige Nakahara  4 , Masanobu Ogawa  3 , Kiyoko Kato  3   4 , Masafumi Sanefuji  3   5 , Eiji Shibata  6   7 , Mayumi Tsuji  6   8 , Masayuki Shimono  6   9 , Toshihiro Kawamoto  6 , Shouichi Ohga  3   5 , Koichi Kusuhara  6   9 ; Japan Environment and Children’s Study Group
Affiliations

Gestational Weight Gain Growth Charts Adapted to Japanese Pregnancies Using a Bayesian Approach in a Longitudinal Study: The Japan Environment and Children's Study

Naho Morisaki et al. J Epidemiol. .

Abstract

Background: Tracking gestational weight gain (GWG) during pregnancy makes it possible to optimize pregnancy outcomes, and GWG growth curves are well suitable for this purpose. The GWG guidelines for Japanese were revised in 2021. However, currently, there are no GWG growth curves to guide women on how to gain weight to meet these guidelines.

Methods: Using data on 96,631 live births from the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS), we created descriptive GWG percentile curves estimating the trajectory of GWG required to meet the GWG guidelines stratified by pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI). For both analyses, Bayesian mixed models with restricted cubic splines adjusted for maternal characteristics were used.

Results: GWG curves substantially differed by pre-pregnancy BMI and were higher among multiparas and those with lower maternal age and with no previous disease. We estimated that underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese women who gain 8.4 to 11.1 kg, 6.4 to 9.1 kg, 3.8 to 6.5 kg, and <1.9 kg at 30 weeks of gestation are on the trajectory to reach the new guidelines at 40 weeks of gestation.

Conclusion: We provide GWG percentiles curves for Japanese women, as well as GWG trajectory curves to meet the new GWG recommendations. These results may help pregnant women monitor weight during pregnancy.

Keywords: Bayesian; charts; curves; gestational weight gain; pregnancy weight.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Gestational weight gain percentile charts for underweight (A), normal weight (B), overweight (C) and obese (D) populations.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Range of gestational weight gain of trajectories that will meet the JSOG recommendation (2021) at 40 weeks of gestation for underweight (A), normal weight (B), overweight (C) and obese (D) populations. JSOG, Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Rasmussen KM, Catalano PM, Yaktine AL. New guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy: what obstetrician/gynecologists should know. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol. 2009;21(6):521–526. 10.1097/GCO.0b013e328332d24e - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Enomoto K, Aoki S, Toma R, Fujiwara K, Sakamaki K, Hirahara F. Pregnancy outcomes based on pre-pregnancy body mass index in Japanese women. PLoS One. 2016;11(6):e0157081. 10.1371/journal.pone.0157081 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Goldstein RF, Abell SK, Ranasinha S, et al. . Association of gestational weight gain with maternal and infant outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2017;317(21):2207–2225. 10.1001/jama.2017.3635 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Suzuki S. Optimal weight gain during pregnancy in Japanese women. J Clin Med Res. 2016;8(11):787–792. 10.14740/jocmr2723w - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ohadike CO, Cheikh-Ismail L, Ohuma EO, et al. . Systematic review of the methodological quality of studies aimed at creating gestational weight gain charts. Adv Nutr. 2016;7(2):313–322. 10.3945/an.115.010413 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types