Table 1

‘Critical’ and ‘important’ outcomes selected by the Guidelines Consensus Panel

‘Critical’ outcomes‘Important’ outcomes

  •  Miscarriage.

  • Antepartum haemorrhage.

  •  Stillbirth.

  • Inadequate gestational weight gain.

  •  Neonatal death.

  • Total gestational weight gain.

  •  Preterm birth.

  • Delivery complications (instrumental delivery, length of labour, vaginal tears).

  •  Gestational diabetes mellitus.

  • Birth defects.

  •  Pre-eclampsia.

  • Lower back pain.

  •  Gestational hypertension.

  • Pelvic girdle pain.

  •  Caesarean section.

  • Urinary incontinence (during and following pregnancy).

  •  Maternal mental health (depression and anxiety during and following pregnancy).

  • Induction of labour.

  •  Excessive gestational weight gain.

  • Long-term maternal outcomes (cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, hypertension, obesity).

  •  Postpartum weight retention.

  • Adverse outcomes (musculoskeletal injury, trauma, dehydration, hyperthermia, cardiovascular or respiratory events, maternal hypoglycaemia, fatigue).

  •  Glucose tolerance.

  • Gestational age at birth.

  •  Preterm/prelabour rupture of membranes.

  • Birth weight.

  •  Diastasis recti.

  • Body composition (newborn adiposity, body mass index).

  •  Fetal responses to physical activity (fetal heart rate, uterine/umbilical blood flow).

  • Birth complications (including shoulder dystocia, brachial plexus injury, APGAR, neonatal intensive care unit admittance, metabolic acidosis).

  •  Low birth weight (small for gestational age <2500 g, <10th/15th percentile for gestational age).

  • Hyperbilirubinaemia.

  •  Intrauterine growth restriction.

  • Offspring developmental milestones (cognitive, psychosocial, motor skills).

  •  High birth weight (large for gestational age, macrosomia, >4000 g, >90th percentile for gestational age).

  •  Neonatal hypoglycaemia.

  •  Long-term offspring outcomes (obesity, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases).