The first issue is actually getting pregnant. Being fat can interfere with fertility because your fat stores changes the levels of sex hormones the body produces. Add into the mix that many fat women have polycystic ovaries (blog on PCOS to come) and getting knocked up becomes a huge challenge.
Once you are pregnant you have an increased risk for many serious issues:
- Preeclampsia: This is a condition which causes swelling, high blood pressure and fluid retention. This sucks for mom but can be very dangerous for baby because it can restrict placental blood flow.
- Gestational Diabetes: This prevents your body from breaking down sugars and can cause the baby to gain too much weight in utero causing a dangerous and difficult delivery. It has also been proven that babies with high birth weight are more likely to suffer from childhood obesity.
- Cesarean section: If you are obese you are more likely to have a slow and difficult labor, this increases the chance having to have a c-section (can they do a tummy tuck at the same time???).
- We are more likely also to experience difficulty in our postpartum recovery.
So if you are thinking of starting a family, NOW is the time to get in better shape. You don't have to be an Olympic athlete but losing 10-20% of your body weight will make a big difference.
1 comment:
True that. I've recently dropped 30 pounds for the same reason. I still have more to go, but Dr. says I can safely try now. Weight loss continues - trying is fun - Dr. keeps me monitored.
BUT - something to consider. Recently had an extremely early miscarriage - so early that if we weren't trying, I would have thought that I was just late.
Have been bleeding for the last 8 weeks since. Have had to boost iron, lower omegs (thin your blood) and increase folic acid as a result.
Not mourning the loss as I would have if I'd known for longer (the day I found out was the day I miscarried) but the HORMONES have been completely out of control as the HCG (pregnancy hormone) drops, which can take a long time. This MAY be weight-related.
Anyway - the moral of the story is that the weight probably didn't play a role in the miscarriage (and that's from the experts), but struggling to keep it off with wonky hormones is a pain. Apparently, hormones play a big roles in your workouts - my ab exercises were terrible for about 3 weeks - as my body tried to protect the 'pregnancy'.
So, as I was saying, see the doctor (or specialist) for a pre-conception checkup - get going and always remember - the objective is healthy, happy baby AND healthy, happy mommy. Also, having a good, size-friendly doctor makes all the difference. Mine keeps me in check without making me feel ugly - and checks my blood levels regularly - this is REALLY important.
Also - remember - you don't need to be a rail to be a mom. But you do need to be healthy. In the short time I was pregnant (right before I confirmed it, then lost the pregnancy)I was exhausted a lot and had the most tender breasts in the world (well, it FELT like it, anyway). Check out:
http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/firstindex.html
The website exists to encourage discussions about obesity and pregnancy, address questions and concerns, and to help women of size have more empowered pregnancies and births. Careful, though - like anything, a grain of salt is required. Your doctor or specialist can be your best friend.
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