“You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests you think she’s pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.”
Dave Barry, Dave Barry Turns Fifty
Am I obese?
Obesity is diagnosed when your BMI is 30 or higher. However, between 25 and 30, you are considered overweight and should take serious steps to prevent more weight progression. From calculating your body mass index, divide your weight (pounds) by your height(inches) squared and multiply by 703.
[(weight(pounds) * height(inches))2 * 703]
Or divide your weight (kilograms) by height(meters) squared.
[(weight(kgm) / height(meters)2]
Could having a high BMI prevent me from being pregnant?
In fact, high BMI is associated with many cases of infertility and failure of conception. It may also lead to other complications like Diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, with which pregnancy will be risky. Many healthcare providers give solid advice about the urge to lose enough weight before pregnancy to avoid unpredictable courses during pregnancy that may result in failure.
How might obesity affect my future pregnancy?
Unfortunately, high BMI is associated with multiple maternal and fetal complications during pregnancy. The maternal difficulty may be attributed to the failure of the body to withhold the additional strain created by pregnancy which may exaggerate the already existing theme of obesity. The above condition may manifest as poor control of already existing Diabetes and sky-high blood pressure that may be complicated by preeclampsia (please check this post for more details ). Obesity may also affect your baby by creating an unfavorable environment for proper development. This may be caused by insulin resistance created by high blood fats or even low blood delivery to the fetus by developing atherosclerosis of uterine blood vessels. This may cause the baby to be of low birth weight, poor lung development, and even intrauterine death.
How much weight should I gain during pregnancy?
Normally pregnant women with an average BMI should gain about 25 to 35 pounds after becoming pregnant, distributing as the following: 2 to 4 pounds during the first three months of pregnancy and 1 pound a week during the rest of your pregnancy. However, if you are expecting a twin, 35 to 45 pounds will normally be gained during your pregnancy. This would be an average of 1 ½ pounds per week after the usual weight gain in the first trimester(1st 3 months). Obese women follow different weight scheduling programs during pregnancy to lower the complication as low as possible and decrease the risk of cesarean section. If you have a single pregnancy and your BMI is 30 or higher, the recommended weight gain is 11 to 20 pounds. If you have twin pregnancies and a BMI of 30 or higher, the recommended weight gain is 25 to 42 pounds.
In a nutshell……..
Being obese carries additional risks for you and your baby; you should always ask for medical advice during pregnancy, especially when you are obese or have any other diseases, to tailor a proper schedule just for you.
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