Perceived and measured weight changes during adolescent pregnancy

Study Objectives This study examines the accuracy of recalled gestational weight gain and maximum weight gain during pregnancy and evaluates which factors have an impact on those estimates. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting Adolescent pregnancy clinic in an urban hospital. Subjects Forty postpartum adolescents were recruited. Half the subjects were evaluated within 6 months postpartum, and half were seen over the next 9 months. Main Outcome Measures Months postpartum, intrapartum weight gain documented in chart, maximum weight documented in chart, recalled intrapartum weight gain, recalled maximum weight; differences between chart-documented and recalled weight gain and maximum weight. Results Self-documented and documented weight gain and maximum intrapartum weights were highly correlated (Pearson r=.99), although those at highest weight tended to underestimate their weight gain and maximum weight. Conclusions Adolescents are able to reliably recall weight gain and maximum weight during pregnancy.