Moreover, the newborn and foetal complications that arise from pregnant women with NCDs and related risk factors are also severe. For example, pregnant mothers who are obese have an increased risk of stillbirths and congenital malformations amongst other obstetric and neonatal complications (Akil & Ahmad, 2011, Kapur, 2015). Plus, these mothers will be more likely to develop gestational diabetes mellitus, which is a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes in both the later life of the mother and child (Damm et al., 2016, Song et al., 2018). Additionally, being overweight or obese during pregnancy not only increases the risk of developing diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, but also increases the risk of pre-eclampsia and postpartum haemorrhage, which are two of the most common causes of maternal mortality in Bangladesh (Khatun et al., 2012, Kapur, 2015, Roy & Shengelia, 2016).