Abstract

POSTPARTUM WEIGHT RETENTION (PPWR) TRENDS AMONG MOTHERS

Linda Varghese*, Anchana Sadnanadan and Sethulekshmi P. S.

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Abstract

Postpartum weight retention is regarded as a major public health problem because of its contribution to the incidence of obesity.[2] A descriptive study done was to assess the trends of postpartum weight retention among fifty mothers after six weeks of delivery. After obtaining permission from Institutional Ethical Committee, an informed consent was obtained from each mother before data collection. Mothers were allotted by Non Probability convenient sampling technique based on inclusion criteria. Data collected with semi structured tool and maintained the weight chart. The results revealed that, more than half of the mothers (52%) retained the body weight of 5-10 KG followed by 34% of them, below 5 KG. The maximum weight retention has reported by 4% of the mothers (10-15 KG) and 2% with above 15Kg. In conclusion, the postnatal mothers need to be aware about the facts and consequences of postpartum weight retention in the overall health.

Keywords: Postpartum Weight Retention (PPWR), Maternal Weight gain, Gestational Weight Gain (GWG).