According to a study published in PLoS One, pre-pregnancy obesity is associated with increased odds of perinatal mortality.

The study included 392,820 women. Among these, 20.6% were overweight and 12.8% were obese. Women who had obesity before pregnancy had 55% higher likelihood of perinatal mortality, i.e., stillbirth or neonatal death before hospital discharge (adjusted OR 1.55). Additionally, women who were overweight prior to pregnancy had 22% higher odds of perinatal mortality in comparison with women with a normal BMI (aOR 1.22).

According to mediation analysis, 63.1% of the association between obesity and perinatal death was mediated by gestational age at delivery. The study concluded that obese pregnancies were associated with a higher risk of perinatal death, partly driven by a lower gestational age at delivery… (Medpage Today, March 25; PLoS One, March 23, 2022)