Predictors of weight gain at 6 and 18 months after childbirth: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE To test the contributions of life-style and stress to postpartum weight gain after controlling for sociodemographic and reproductive influences. DESIGN Longitudinal mail survey with retrospective data on gestational weight gain and prospective data on postpartum weight gain. SETTING Multicounty community in the midwestern United States. PARTICIPANTS After deleting from the sample women who became pregnant again, had confounding medical conditions, or had missing weight data, the sample consisted of 88 predominantly white mothers at 6 months after childbirth and 75 predominantly white mothers at 18 months after childbirth. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Weight gain at 6 and 18 months after childbirth. RESULTS Maternal race and gestational weight gain accounted for significant amounts of variance in 6-month and 18-month postpartum weight gain. Neither life-style nor perceived stress contributed significantly to predicting postpartum weight gains. Gestational weight gain was the most important predictor of postpartum weight gain. CONCLUSIONS Given the contribution of gestational weight gain to postpartum weight gain, further study is needed of high gestational weight gain.