Maternal obesity and excessive weight gain linked to neonatal complications in Dar es Salaam study

Researchers conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study with retrospective elements at four referral centers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Data were collected from September 2025 to January 2026. Participants were grouped by maternal pre-pregnancy weight and gestational weight gain. Phase I assessed early neonatal complications in 1,902 newborns; Phase II assessed wheezing illness in 293 children younger than six years.

Neonatal complications reported as more common among infants whose mothers had pre-pregnancy obesity and excessive gestational weight gain included need for resuscitation, meconium aspiration syndrome, moderate respiratory distress syndrome, transient tachypnea, birth asphyxia, respiratory support after admission, growth restriction, macrosomia and prematurity. The authors report that these associations remained significant after adjustment for confounders. Wheezing, asthma, hospitalization and asthma medication use were also more frequent among children in this maternal exposure group, but differences were not statistically significant.

The findings indicate an association with early neonatal outcomes in this study population, but the abstract provides no effect estimates or confidence intervals. The childhood respiratory results are inconclusive, and the cross-sectional design with retrospective elements limits causal interpretation. The study does not establish that maternal weight factors caused the reported complications.