Based on data from diverse contexts worldwide, gestational weight gain (GWG) standards and related recommendations are a critical gap for maternal and child health and well-being during prenatal and postnatal periods.

To address these gaps, the WHO Departments of Nutrition and Food Safety, and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, with key contributions from the Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, and in partnership with an expert group that includes researchers from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Cornell University (USA) and University of British Columbia (Canada), will develop global guidance and tools on the suited assessment of GWG and prevent unhealthy GWG that could adversely affect maternal and newborn health globally.

The project will also count on the Technical Advisory Group on Gestational Weight Gain (TAG-GWG), established in May 2023. The TAG-GWG will act as an advisory body to WHO in this field, primarily on the development of the GWG standards and definitions of optimal ranges. Therefore, the main activities will include the development of a detailed research protocol encompassing the eligibility criteria required to determine a sample that is as prescriptive as data and evidence allow, and also the methods and approaches to develop new global GWG standards and optimal ranges.