Cent Eur J Nurs Midw 2025, 16(2):2166-2175 | DOI: 10.15452/cejnm.2025.16.0012

Potential of clinical anthropometry in the assessment of health risks and complications of overweight and obesity in pregnant women: assessment of body composition using Matiegka equations

Miroslav Kopecký1, Renata Hrubá2, Ľudmila Matulníková2, Kateřina Janoušková2, Monika Lopuszanska-Dawid3
1 Department of Preclinical Subjects, Faculty of Health Sciences, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
2 Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Health Sciences, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
3 Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Physical Education, Józef Piłsudski University, Warsaw, Poland

Aim: Complications associated with obesity may negatively affect the physiological growth and development of the fetus and the health of the child. The aim of the research was to determine the effect of pregnancy and the postpartum period on the body composition of first-time pregnant women using standardized anthropometric methods with the use of the Matiegka method for fractionation of body composition.

Design: A longitudinal cohort study.

Methods: The study was conducted in gynecological outpatient clinics on a population of 40 nulligravidas aged 18–40 years. The women were assessed in three stages corresponding to the trimesters of pregnancy and Stage IV, the postpartum period of six weeks. The parameters obtained were used to determine body composition according to the Matiegka method. The women were divided into two groups according to BMI, normal weight and overweight and obesity.

Results: Significant changes in body composition were found during the measurements in Stages I–IV, with a decrease in skeletal muscle mass and an increase in fat component. There were significant changes in body composition between the categories of women with BMI normal weight and BMI overweight and obese in the ratio of skeletal muscle to body fat.

Conclusion: The results indicate that monitoring body composition in pregnant women is important not only for preventing maternal obesity, but also for preventing fetal macrosomia and possible maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality associated with childbirth and the postpartum period.

Keywords: anthropometry, body composition, first-time mother, postpartum period, pregnancy, trimester

Received: January 7, 2025; Revised: April 10, 2025; Accepted: May 14, 2025; Published: June 5, 2025  Show citation

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Kopecký M, Hrubá R, Matulníková Ľ, Janoušková K, Lopuszanska-Dawid M. Potential of clinical anthropometry in the assessment of health risks and complications of overweight and obesity in pregnant women: assessment of body composition using Matiegka equations. Central European Journal of Nursing and Midwifery. 2025;16(2):2166-2175. doi: 10.15452/cejnm.2025.16.0012.
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