Educational Attainment and Gestational Weight Gain among U.S. Mothers

Abstract Background Education is an important social determinant of many health outcomes, but the relationship between educational attainment and the amount of weight gained over the course of a woman's pregnancy (gestational weight gain [GWG]) has not been established clearly. Methods We used...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Women's health issues 2016-07, Vol.26 (4), p.460-467
Main Authors: Cohen, Alison K., MPH, Kazi, Chandni, MPH, Headen, Irene, PhD, Rehkopf, David H., ScD, MPH, Hendrick, C. Emily, MPH, Patil, Divya, BA, Abrams, Barbara, DrPH, MPH
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Educational Status
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Mothers
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Postpartum Period
Pregnancy
Social Determinants of Health
Weight Gain - physiology
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Summary:Abstract Background Education is an important social determinant of many health outcomes, but the relationship between educational attainment and the amount of weight gained over the course of a woman's pregnancy (gestational weight gain [GWG]) has not been established clearly. Methods We used data from 1979 through 2010 for women in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1979) cohort ( n  = 6,344 pregnancies from 2,769 women). We used generalized estimating equations to estimate the association between educational attainment and GWG adequacy (as defined by 2009 Institute of Medicine guidelines), controlling for diverse social factors from across the life course (e.g., income, wealth, educational aspirations and expectations) and considering effect measure modification by race/ethnicity and prepregnancy overweight status. Results In most cases, women with more education had increased odds of gaining a recommended amount of gestational weight, independent of educational aspirations and educational expectations and relatively robust to sensitivity analyses. This trend manifested itself in a few different ways. Those with less education had higher odds of inadequate GWG than those with more education. Among those who were not overweight before pregnancy, those with less education had higher odds of excessive GWG than college graduates. Among women who were White, those with less than a high school degree had higher odds of excessive GWG than those with more education. Conclusion The relationship between educational attainment and GWG is nuanced and nonlinear.
ISSN:1049-3867
1878-4321
DOI:10.1016/j.whi.2016.05.009