Obesity During Pregnancy Carries Bigger Price Tag

“It is well-known that obesity increases the chances of medical complications during pregnancy, but now a new study shows it also puts a financial strain on the health-care system. Obese women who are pregnant tend to have longer hospital stays, require more medications, and spend more time with their doctors than normal-weight women do. Much of this is due to complications such as high blood pressure, preeclampsia and Caesarean deliveries, researchers find. ‘Right now, about one in five women in the United States who deliver babies are obese,’ said lead researcher Susan Y. Chu, a senior epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ‘Given that there are about 4 million births in the United States each year, that translates to almost 1 million obese women giving birth.’”
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