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A Healthy Baby is Worth the Weight Campaign Aims to Lower LBW in Wyoming
by Michelle Crist, RN, BSN - Provider Services Manager, APS Healthcare

Wyoming’s low birth weight rate for newborns continues to rank at 8.6%, compared to the national average of 8.1%, according to figures compiled by the Wyoming Department of Health. 

According to a Colorado Department of Health study, inadequate maternal weight gain during pregnancy is a significant contributing factor to low birth weight, even greater than maternal smoking.  Inadequate weight gain affects one in four pregnant women in Wyoming.  Because Wyoming has similar issues related to low birth weight, the Wyoming Department of Health has partnered with Colorado to adapt their “A Healthy Baby is Worth the Weight” campaign in Wyoming. 

Pregnant women expect their healthcare providers to address proper nutrition and appropriate weight gain with them.  Assisting women to gain an appropriate amount of weight during pregnancy contributes to decreasing the low birth weight rate.  Additionally, focusing on proper nutrition and weight gain will prevent excessive weight gain which is significant, considering the impact of obesity on overall health status. 

The “A Healthy Baby is Worth the Weight” campaign has developed several tools to assist Wyoming providers in meeting these needs:

• Patient Education: Posters and brochures provided in English and Spanish
• Pocket Counseling Guide: The Five A’s for Adequate Weight Gain
• Gestation wheel with BMI calculator
• Prenatal Weight Gain wall chart and individual weight gain grid
• Prescription pad with individual weight gain recommendation
• Post card for ordering additional campaign materials

If you would like to have more information contact your local public health nurse office, or Wyoming Department of Health, Maternal and Family Health at 307-777-7942.