Super-obese women have substantially higher rates of preeclampsia than normal-weight women.

The prevalence of super-obesity (when the BMI [body-mass index] is more than 50 kg/m2) is rising sharply in the United States.

An analysis of more than 854,000 live births in Missouri reveals that super-obese women experienced 4.7 times the rate of preeclampsia compared with normal-weight women. Women in the super-obese category who gained the most weight during pregnancy had 13.4 times the risk of preeclampsia than their normal-weight peers.

PositiveTip: Weight-control is an essential ingredient to having a healthy pregnancy with minimal complications.