women who are overweight or obese when they get pregnant are more likely to give birth to children with congenital heart defects, according to a u.S. Government study released this week. The study, conducted by the u.S. Centers for disease control and prevention, concluded that women who were overweight or obese at the time they became pregnant were 18 per cent more likely to give birth to babies with heart defects, while severely obese women had a 30 per cent increased risk.
