American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Volume 198, Issue 5 , Pages 517.e1-517.e6 , May 2008

How big is too big? The perinatal consequences of fetal macrosomia

  • Xun Zhang, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pediatrics, McGill University Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, QC, Canada
    • ,
  • Adriana Decker, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, QC, Canada.
    • ,
  • Robert W. Platt, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pediatrics, McGill University Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, QC, Canada
    • Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, QC, Canada.
    • ,
  • Michael S. Kramer, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pediatrics, McGill University Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, QC, Canada
    • Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, QC, Canada.

Received 6 July 2007 ,Revised 11 October 2007 ,Accepted 10 December 2007.

References 

  1. Arbuckle T, Sherman G. An analysis of birth weight by gestational age in Canada. Can Med Assoc J. 1989;140:157–165
  2. Institute of Medicine. Nutrition during pregnancy. In: Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1990;p. 52–56
  3. Alberman E. Are our babies becoming bigger?. J Royal Soc Med. 1991;84:257–260
  4. Power C. National trends in birth weight: implications for future adult disease. BMJ. 1994;308:1270–1271
  5. Skjaerven R, Gjessing HK, Bakketeig LS. Birthweight by gestational age in Norway. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2000;79:440–449
  6. Kramer MS, Morin I, Yang H, et al. Why are babies getting bigger? (Temporal trends in fetal growth and its determinants). J Pediatr. 2002;141:538–542
  7. Chauhan SP, Grobman WA, Gherman RA, et al. Suspicion and treatment of the macrosomic fetus: a review. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2005;193:332–346
  8. Stotland NE, Caughey AB, Breed EM, Escobar GJ. Risk factors and obstetric complications associated with macrosomia. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2004;87:220–226
  9. Boulet SL, Alexander GR, Salihu HM, Pass M. Macrosomic births in the United States: determinants, outcomes, and proposed grades of risk. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003;188:1372–1378
  10. ACOG practice bulletin no. 22.2000. Washington (DC): American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
  11. Boyd ME, Usher RH, McClean FH. Fetal macrosomia: prediction, risks, and proposed management. Obstet Gynecol. 1983;61:715–722
  12. Meshari AA, DeSilva S, Rahman I. Fetal macrosomia: prediction, risks and fetal outcome. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 1990;32:215–222
  13. Oral E, Cagdas A, Gezer A, Kaleli S, Aydinli K, Ocer F. Perinatal and maternal outcomes of fetal macrosomia. Eur J Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2001;99:167–171
  14. Wilcox AJ. On the importance-and the unimportance-of birthweight. Int J Epidemiol. 2001;30:1233–1241
  15. Graafmans WC, Richardus JH, Borsboom GJJM, et al. Birth weight and perinatal mortality: a comparison of “optimal” birth weight in seven western European countries. Epidemiology. 2002;13:569–574
  16. Birth: final data for 1999 (National Vital Statistics Reports). Vol 49. Hyattsville (MD): National Center for Health Statistics; 2001;
  17. Birth: final data for 2000 (National Vital Statistics Reports). Vol. 50. Hyattsville (MD): National Center for Health Statistics; 2002;
  18. Birth: final data for 2001 (National Vital Statistics Reports). Vol. 51. Hyattsville (MD): National Center for Health Statistics; 2002;
  19. Cole S, Hartford RB, Bergsjö P, McCarthy B. International collaborative effort (ICE) on birth weight, plurality, and infant mortality. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 1989;68:113–117
  20. Vangen S, Stoltenberg C, Skjaerven R, Magnus P, Harris JR, Stray-Pedersen B. The heavier the better? (Birthweight and perinatal mortality in different ethnic groups). Int J Epidemiol. 2002;31:654–660
  21. Hessol NA, Fuentes-Afflick E. Ethnic differences in neonatal and postneonatal mortality. Pediatrics. 2005;115:44–51
  22. Boulet SL, Salihu HM, Alexander GR. Mode of delivery and the survival of macrosomic infants in the United States, 1995-1999. Birth. 2006;33:278–283
  23. Rouse DJ, Owen J, Goldenberg RL, Cliver SP. The effectiveness and costs of elective cesarean delivery for fetal macrosomia diagnosed by ultrasound. JAMA. 1996;276:1480–1486
  24. Gonen O, Rosen DJD, Dolfin Z, Tepper R, Markov S, Fejgin MD. Induction of labor versus expectant management in macrosomia: a randomized study. Obstet Gynecol. 1997;89:913–917
  25. Sanchez-Ramos L, Bernstein S, Kaunitz AM. Expectant management versus labor induction for suspected fetal macrosomia: a systematic review. Obstet Gynecol. 2002;100:997–1002
  26. Kristensen J, Vestergaard M, Wisborg K, Kesmodel U, Secher NJ. Pre-pregnancy weight and the risk of stillbirth and neonatal death. BJOG. 2005;112:403–408
  27. Yu CK, Teoh TG, Robinson S. Obesity in pregnancy. BJOG. 2006;113:1117–1125
  28. Piper JM, Mitchel EF, Snowden M, Hall C, Adams M, Taylor P. Validation of 1989 Tennessee birth certificates using maternal and newborn hospital records. Am J Epidemiol. 1993;137:758–768
  29. Yawn BP, Wollan P, McKeon K, Field CS. Temporal changes in rates and reasons for medical induction of term labor, 1980-1996. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2001;184:611–619
  30. Lu GC, Rouse DJ, DuBard M, Cliver S, Kimberlin D, Hauth JC. The effect of the increasing prevalence of maternal obesity on perinatal morbidity. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2001;185:845–849
  31. Dabelea D, Snell-Bergeron JK, Hartsfield CL, Bischoff KJ, Hamman RF, McDuffie RS. Increasing prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) over time and by birth cohort: Kaiser Permanente of Colorado GDM screening program. Diabetes Care. 2005;3:579–584
  32. Ferrara A, Kahn HS, Quesenberry CP, Riley C, Hedderson MM. An increase in the incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus: Northern California, 1991-2000. Obstet Gynecol. 2004;103:526–533
  33. Thorpe LE, Berger D, Ellis JA, et al. Trends and racial/ethnic disparities in gestational diabetes among pregnant women in New York City, 1990-2001. Am J Public Health. 2005;95:1536–1539
  34. Polak M. Long-term consequences of fetal macrosomia. J Gynecol Obstet Biol Reprod. 2000;29:36–37
  35. Boney CM, Verma A, Tucker R, Vohr BR. Metabolic syndrome in childhood: association with birth weight, maternal obesity, and gestational diabetes mellitus. Pediatrics. 2005;115:290–296
  36. Costa Ribeiro I, Taddei JA, Colugnatti F. Obesity among children attending elementary public schools in Sao Paulo, Brazil: a case-control study. Public Health Nutr. 2003;6:659–663
  37. Van Assche FA, Holemans K, Aerts L. Long-term consequences for offspring of diabetes during pregnancy. Br Med Bull. 2001;60:173–182
  38. Samaras TT, Elrick H, Storms LH. Birthweight, rapid growth, cancer, and longevity: a review. J Nat Med Assoc. 2003;95:1170–1183
  39. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. ACOG Committee Opinion, Number 315. Obesity in pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 2005;106:671–675
  40. Hollander MH, Paarlberg KM, Huisjes AJ. Gestational diabetes: a review of the current literature and guidelines. Obstet Gynecol Surv. 2007;62:125–136
  41. Tuffnell DJ, West J, Walkinshaw SA. Treatments for gestational diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance in pregnancy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2005;2:CD003395
  42. Crowther CA, Hiller JE, Moss JR, McPhee AJ, Jefries WS, Robinson JS. Australian Carbohydrate Intolerance Study in Pregnant Women (ACHOIS) Trial Group. N Engl J Med. 2005;352:2477–2486

 Cite this article as: Zhang X, Decker A, Platt RW, et al. How big is too big? The perinatal consequences of fetal macrosomia. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2008;198:517.e1-517.e6.

 Reprints not available from the authors.

 This study was supported by a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. R.W.P. is a Monat-McPherson Career Investigator of McGill University and a career investigator (chercheur-boursier) of the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec.

PII: S0002-9378(07)02270-3

doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2007.12.005

American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Volume 198, Issue 5 , Pages 517.e1-517.e6 , May 2008

Article Tools