We've known for some time that babies with low birth weight are more likely to have learning difficulties, vision problems, chronic respiratory problems such as asthma, and cerebral palsy. We also know that smoking, alcohol consumption, poor diet, and genetics can result in low birth weight in newborns. New research suggests that high birth weight can be linked to later health problems, as well.
British scientists -- as part of the Swedish Uppsala Birth Control Cohort Study -- found that infants with a higher birth weight had increased risk of digestive system cancers (13 percent increase) and blood cancers (17 percent increase). In women, high birth weight was correlated with an increased risk of breast cancer but a decreased risk of endometrial cancer.
(Source: Int J Cancer online, Feb., 2005)
No cause and effect was established or can be assumed from this study -- at this point the findings are merely a correlation. However, research is showing that increased bodyfat (and fat babies tend to be fat adults) increases estrogen levels throughout the body (fat cells produce estrogen, and often the harshest form of estrogen, estrodiol), which is linked to a variety of cancers.
The message here is that mothers should avoid the temptation to use pregnancy as an excuse to eat everything in sight. A series of news stories have come out over the last year about enormous infants. From what I've read, a healthy birth weight is in the range of 6.5 to 9 pounds.
If you want to keep your baby healthy -- and reduce the fat you gained during pregnancy -- exercise regularly during pregnancy for as long as your health allows. Obviously, not every mother can exercise during pregnancy, but those who can should. Weight training, yoga, and light cardio are all permissible under the guidance of your doctor or a qualified personal trainer.
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