Maternal obesity and pregnancy: Evolution of prevalence and of place of birth

Objective. The primary objective was to describe the evolution of the prevalence of maternal obesity in France. The secondary objectives were to assess changes in the French regions and the place of birth according to type (public/private) and level of care. Material and methods. Study based population of all births between 1999 and 2009 included in the AUDIPOG database. Our judgment criterion was the body mass index (BMI) divided into classes. Results. Seventy-four thousand and forty-six pregnancies were included. The mean BMI was 22.9 +/- 4.5 kg/m(2) with an increase between 1999-2001 and 2008-2009 (22.6 +/- 4.3 kg/m(2) versus 23.1 +/- 4.7 kg/m(2), P < 10(-4)). North was the first region in terms of overweight patients (18%) and obese (10.2%). There was an increase of the birth rate in public maternity, and level II and III regardless of BMI class. Only the class of patients with a BMI >= 40 kg/m(2) delivered more frequently in level III with an increase between the first and the last period of the study (20.8% versus 36.8%, P=0.02). Conclusion. The BMI is still increasing with more and more patients with a BMI >40 kg/m(2) referred to level III. This raises the question of the organization of care and follow-up of these patients. (C) 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.