Audit on body mass index in pregnancy

Ratna Aumeer
Foundation Year 2 Doctor, Macclesfield District General Hospital, East Cheshire NHS Trust, Mersey Deanery, UK

Introduction and background: Obesity during pregnancy is a risk factor for many adverse outcomes such as stillbirth, macrosomia, and gestational diabetes, among others.
Objective: To assess the quality of care and management of obese pregnant women at Dudley Hospital, United Kingdom.
Design: A retrospective audit study.
Setting: Dudley Hospital, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Standards and criteria: All pregnant women should have their body mass index (BMI) measured and recorded at their first prenatal visit. All pregnant women with BMI > 30 should have postprandial blood tests at 20 weeks and 26 weeks to screen for diabetes. All pregnant women should receive advice about sensible diet and exercise, which should be documented in their medical notes.
Methods: Medical records for all patients with delivery dates between December 2008 and January 2009 were audited post delivery.
Participants: Pregnant women (N = 91).
Results: BMI is recorded for 98% of patients. Over a quarter of women with BMI > 30 did not have postprandial blood tests at 20 and 26 weeks.
Conclusion: BMI is calculated and recorded for most patients, but uptake of postprandial blood tests is suboptimal in patients with BMI > 30.
Recommendations: To add a section on obesity in the maternity notes.

Keywords: pregnancy, obesity, body mass index (BMI), audit