In Reply

The Risks Associated with Obesity in Pregnancy by PD Dr. med. Johannes Stubert, Dr. med. Steffi Hartmann, PD Dr. med. Frank Reister, and Prof. Dr. med. Wolfgang Janni in issue 16/2018

We wholeheartedly agree with Gudrun von der Ohe’s response to our article. In the context of breastfeeding advice in general, the benefits for the neonate should be discussed, but so should the benefits for the mothers themselves. Emphasizing the positive effects of breastfeeding on normalizing weight and metabolism is also a way to improve women’s willingness to breastfeed.

Professor Razum and Professor David underline the associations between obesity and pregnancy that we identified in our article for a population subgroup. The prevalence of obesity in women with a migration background reflects—among other things—the situation in their countries of origin (1). The particular attention our colleagues demand is to be supported, but in all experience, any pregnancy advice or instruction is particularly challenging in these women, owing to language and cultural barriers.

DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.2018.0454a

On behalf of the authors

PD Dr. med. habil. Johannes Stubert

Universitätsfrauenklinik und Poliklinik

am Klinikum Südstadt Rostock

Conflict of interest statement

The author declares that no conflict of interest exists.

References

1. Global Health Observatory (GHO) data: Prevalence of obesity among adults. www.who.int/gho/ncd/risk_factors/overweight_obesity/obesity_adults/en/ (last accessed on 29 May 2018).

2. Stubert J, Reister F, Hartmann S, Janni W: The risks associated with obesity in pregnancy. Dtsch Arztebl Int 2018; 115: 276–83.