Gestational Weight Gain and the Electronic Medical Record

Less than one third of pregnant women actually achieve the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) recommended weight gain. To date, there are no randomized controlled trials studying the use of the electronic medical record to alert providers to initiate the counseling of patients on the IOM gestational weight gain recommendations.

In the investigator's planned study intervention, using the EPIC EMR system, an electronic alert (Best Practice Advisory) will appear for providers at each prenatal care visit. This alert will remind providers to counsel patients on the recommendations for gestational weight gain. The control group will receive standard prenatal care, without electronic alerts generated regarding BMI and gestational weight gain.

The investigators hypothesize that a higher percentage of patients who receive the intervention will meet the IOM guidelines for weight gain.