RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Short maternal stature and gestational weight gain among refugee and migrant women birthing appropriate for gestational age term newborns: a retrospective cohort on the Myanmar-Thailand border, 2004–2016 JF BMJ Global Health JO BMJ Global Health FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd SP e004325 DO 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-004325 VO 6 IS 2 A1 Sue J Lee A1 Ahmar H Hashmi A1 Aung Myat Min A1 Mary Ellen Gilder A1 Nay Win Tun A1 Lay Lay Wah A1 Mu Wah A1 Elsi Win A1 Ma Ner A1 Prakaykaew Charunwatthana A1 François H Nosten A1 Verena I Carrara A1 Rose McGready YR 2021 UL http://gh.bmj.com/content/6/2/e004325.abstract AB Introduction To examine the interactions between short maternal stature, body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) among appropriate for gestational age (AGA) term newborns in a population of refugees and migrants in Southeast Asia.Methods This is a retrospective cohort study from 2004 to 2016, including women delivering term, singleton newborns, with first trimester height, weight and gestation dated by ultrasound and a last body weight measured within 4 weeks of birth. AGA newborns were those not classified as small for gestational age or large for gestational age by either INTERGROWTH-21st or Gestation Related Optimal Weight standards. The influence of maternal stature on GWG in delivering an AGA newborn was analysed, with GWG compared with existing National Academy of Medicine (NAM) recommendations.Results 4340 women delivered AGA newborns. Mean maternal height (SD) was 151.5 cm (5.13), with 58.5% of women considered too short by INTERGROWTH-21st standards. Only one in four women (26.5%, 1150/4340) had GWG within NAM recommendations. Women of shorter stature had a significantly lower mean GWG compared with taller women in underweight and normal BMI categories (p<0.001 for both BMI categories). Mean GWG of overweight and obese women did not differ by height (p=1.0 and p=0.85, respectively) and fell within the lower range of NAM recommendations.Conclusion These results suggest that short maternal stature can be an important predictor of GWG and should be considered with prepregnancy BMI. Limited-resource settings and special populations need robust GWG recommendations that reflect height and BMI.