Obesity in Pregnancy Ups Risk of Heart Defect in Baby

FRIDAY, April 9 (HealthDay News) -- Obese pregnant women are at increased risk of having a baby with a congenital heart defect, a new study finds.
On average, obesity is associated with a 15 percent increased risk of having a baby with a heart defect. But the risk rises with the level of obesity. Compared to normal-weight women, the risk is 11 percent higher in moderately obese women and 33 percent higher in morbidly obese women.
In general, women who were overweight but not obese had no increased risk, said the researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the New York State Department of Health.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20100410/hl_hsn/obesityinpregnancyupsriskofheartdefectinbaby;_ylt=AvypeH_XDnPtXiy7vYIxP5jVJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTNpNjdzNzhlBGFzc2V0A2hzbi8yMDEwMDQxMC9vYmVzaXR5aW5wcmVnbmFuY3l1cHNyaXNrb2ZoZWFydGRlZmVjdGluYmFieQRwb3MDOQRzZWMDeW5fYXJ0aWNsZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA29iZXNpdHlpbnByZQ--