Maternal weight gain in low-income black and Hispanic women: evaluation by use of weight-for-height near term.

This study determined the prevalence of low maternal weight gain among a target group of low-income black and Hispanic women and compared weight-for-height near term with total weight gain during pregnancy as an index of birth-weight classification. One-third (30.8%) of 325 women had weights near term less than 120% of their standard pregravid weight-for-height; there was little variation by ethnic group. After adjusting for gestational age as a covariate of birth weight (P = 0.0001), maternal weight-for-height near term (P = 0.0010), ethnicity (P " 0.0068), and parity (P = 0.0083) significantly influenced birth weight. Women with near-term weights greater than or equal to 120% of their standard pregravid weight-for-height delivered infants with higher birth weights (P = 0.001). Comparison of weight-for-height near term with total weight gain as an index of birth-weight classification (less than or greater than or equal to 3000 g) revealed that the two methods differ in terms of sensitivity and specificity with variation in pregravid weight.