Objective: This study was undertaken to study the effect of parity on maternal and neonatal characteristics.
Study design: Maternal anthropometry, diet, micronutrient status, biochemistry, and physical activity were measured during pregnancy and detailed neonatal size recorded in 770 pregnancies in rural Maharashtra, India.
Results: Increasing parity was associated with larger offspring birth weight, skinfold thicknesses, and abdominal circumference, but not head circumference and length. Compared with primiparous women, multiparous women were older, less adipose, and more physically active but had similar education, socioeconomic status, nutritional intake, and weight gain during pregnancy. They had lower circulating concentrations of hemoglobin, albumin, ferritin, glucose, and insulin and lower total leucocyte counts at 18 and 28 weeks' gestation. There was no difference in their husbands' body size. The relationship between maternal parity and neonatal weight and adiposity was significant independent of the difference in maternal characteristics.
Conclusion: Increasing maternal parity predicts increasing adiposity in the newborn infant. This may result from maternal nutritional, cardiovascular, or immunologic factors.