In California, the percent of birthing parents who are overweight or obese before becoming pregnant has been increasing. In 2017, the percent of birthing parents who were overweight or obese before pregnancy was 51.2 percent, an increase of 11 percent since 2009 when the rate was 46.2 percent. The maps below show the increase over time in the percent of birthing parents who were overweight/obese before pregnancy by county.

As excess weight of a birthing parent before and during her pregnancy increases the risk for gestational diabetes, please see California Diabetes and Pregnancy Program for more information and gestational diabetes in pregnancy trend maps.

For information on Multiple Factors Affect Birthing Parents’ Weight and resources on supporting healthy weight before and during pregnancy, click on links below.

• California Diabetes and Pregnancy Program (CDAPP) Sweet Success:
  Provides technical support and education to medical personnel and community liaisons to assist in promoting improved pregnancy outcomes.
• 2015 CDAPP Sweet Success Guidelines for Care (PDF) :
  Suggested topics and tools from Chapter 7: Medical Nutrition Therapy (page numbers are within chapter 7) include: Preconception and Interconception Nutritional Care (pages 4-7), Pregnancy Care (pages 7-11), Healthy Eating During Lactation (pages 30-33), and Prenatal Weight Gain Grids (pages 42-45). Useful tables include: Table 2. Energy Needs for Pregnancy Based on Gestational Age, Table 4. IOM Prepregnant BMI Categories and Cut-Offs with Recommended Weight Gain, and Table 5. Weight Gain During Twin Pregnancy.
• Comprehensive Perinatal Services Program (CPSP):
  Access weight gain grids, nutrition assessments, and handouts.
• CPSP Prenatal Weight Gain Grids: Pre-Pregnancy Underweight Range (PDF) | Pre-Pregnancy Normal Weight Range (PDF) | Pre-Pregnancy Overweight Range (PDF) | Pre-Pregnancy Obese Weight Range (PDF) | Pre-Pregnancy Normal Weight-Twins Range (PDF) | Pre-Pregnancy Overweight-Twins Range (PDF) | Pre-Pregnancy Obese-Twins Range (PDF)
• Online Skills-Based Training on graphing prenatal weight : This module focuses on how to properly select, plot and analyze the Prenatal Weight Gain Grid. Gaining too little or too much weight in pregnancy is related with poor birth outcomes.
• CPSP Steps to Take Manual (updated 2017) (PDF) :
  See the Nutrition section, or page 210 of the document, for guidelines on Weight Gain During Pregnancy.
• CPSP Nutrition Handouts (updated 2017):
  Tips To Gain Weight (PDF)  and Spanish: Consejos para Aumentar de Peso (PDF) 
  Tips To Slow Weight Gain (PDF)  and Spanish: Consejos para reducir el aumento de peso 
• California Nutrition and Physical Activity Guidelines for Adolescents:
  Includes topics, such as, adolescent nutrition, nutrition & physical activity screen, Body Image & Disordered Eating, Weight Management and Physical Activity. Web link also includes Easy Meals & Snacks..a Healthy Cookbook for Teens.
• Maternal and Infant Health Assessment (MIHA):
  MIHA is a population based survey of women with a recent live birth that has been conducted annually since 1999. MIHA collects self-reported information about maternal weight status prior to pregnancy and total weight gained during pregnancy. Statewide, regional, and county MIHA data snapshots are available for download.

• MyPlate Resources: 
  California MyPlate handouts are tailored for teens, for moms, and for Gestational Diabetes, with Spanish versions as well. 

• Systems and Environmental Changes offers information on systems and environmental changes that help to make healthy choices practical and accessible to all community members. Implement Policy, Systems and Environmental (PSE) changes to address obesity with an equity lens to eliminate overt and subtle injustices.

  • Lyn R, Aytur S, Davis TA, et al. Policy, systems, and environmental approaches for obesity prevention: a framework to inform local and state action. J Public Health Manag Pract.2013;19 (3 Suppl 1):S23-S33. doi:10.1097/ PHH.0b013e3182841709.
  • Kumanyika, S. K. A Framework for Increasing Equity Impact in Obesity Prevention. American Journal of Public Health. 2019; 109

• Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexamining the Guidelines (May 2009) 
• The Current Understanding of Pre-Pregnancy Weight, Gestational Weight Gain, and the Impacts on Maternal and Child Health Among Women with Obesity: A Virtual Workshop (Recorded Webinar-June 2018)  A 1-hour webinar focusing on women with class II and III obesity and new evidence since 2009 when the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council published Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexamining the Guidelines. The webinar explored new evidence on trends and associated health outcomes; discussed promising interventions, including patient-centered counseling; and highlighted limitations of the current evidence and research gaps.
• BMI (Body Mass Index) Calculator :
  Learn about the BMI and use the BMI calculators for adults or for teens and children.
• Women, Infants and Children Program:
  WIC provides eligible women and their families with nutrition education, vouchers for healthy foods, and more.           
• Healthy Weight and Pregnancy (Word) :
  What's the problem and what California and COUNTY Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health Programs are doing about it.
• Leah's Pantry : This website provides trauma informed nutrition education, programs and curricula.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): CDC provides strategies to address obesity, increase physical activity and promote breastfeeding.

• Recommended community strategies and measurements to prevent obesity in the United States 

• The CDC Guide  to Strategies to Increase Physical Activity in the Community

• The CDC Guide  to Strategies to Support Breastfeeding Mothers and Babies

• Weight Gain During Pregnancy : This CDC web page includes pregnancy weight gain recommendations and steps you can take to meet your pregnancy weight gain goal.