OBESITY AND PREGNANCY – WHAT TO EXPECT

Being overweight or obese during pregnancy can cause problems for you and your baby.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU’RE OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE?

Being overweight during pregnancy can cause complications for you and your baby. The more overweight you are, the more likely you are to have pregnancy complications.

If you’re overweight, your BMI is 25.0 to 29.9 before pregnancy. Overweight means you have excess body weight that comes from your muscles, bone, fat, and water. If you’re obese, your BMI is 30.0 or higher before pregnancy. Obese means you have an excess amount of body fat.

WHAT KINDS OF PREGNANCY COMPLICATIONS CAN BEING OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE CAUSE?

If you’re overweight or obese during pregnancy, you’re more likely to have these complications:

• High blood pressure, preeclampsia, and blood clotting problems are few of the issues that happen with obesity during pregnancy. High blood pressure is when the force of blood against the walls of the blood vessels is too high. Preeclampsia is a condition that can happen after the 20th week of pregnancy or right after pregnancy. It’s when a pregnant woman has high blood pressure and signs that some of her organs, like her kidneys and liver, may not be working properly. Clotting problems are when blood clots partly or completely block the flow of blood in a blood vessel.
• Gestational diabetes is one of the problems with overweight pregnancy. Diabetes is when your body has too much sugar (called glucose) in the blood.
• Being pregnant past your due date and problems during labour and birth, including problems with anaesthesia (pain medicine). You also may need to stay in the hospital longer after having your baby than women at a healthier weight.
• If you’re obese, you’re more likely to have complications from a caesarean like an infection or losing too much blood.

If you’re obese, you’re more likely to have other complications, including:

• Infections during pregnancy, like urinary tract infections
• A sleep disorder called obstructive sleep apnoea.
• A dangerous blood clot problem called venous thromboembolism (also called VTE). This is when a blood clot breaks off and travels through your blood to organs like the brain, lungs or heart.

CAN BEING OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE CAUSE PROBLEMS FOR YOUR BABY?

If you’re overweight or obese during pregnancy, your baby is more likely to have these conditions:

• Premature birth where the birth that happens before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy.
• Birth defects, including neural tube defects (also called NTDs). NTDs are birth defects of the brain and spine.
• Macrosomia (also called large for gestational age or LGA). This means your baby weighs more than 9 pounds, 15 ounces (4,500 grams) at birth. When a baby is this large, it can cause complications during labour and birth, including injury to your baby.
• Diabetes, heart disease and obesity later in life

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF HAVING A HEALTHY PREGNANCY AND A HEALTHY BABY?

During pregnancy, do these things to help keep you and your baby healthy:

• Prenatal care is medical care you get during pregnancy. Go to every prenatal care check- up, even if you’re feeling fine.
• Talk to your doctor about how much weight to gain during pregnancy. If you’re overweight, you want to gain about 15 to 25 pounds during pregnancy. If you’re obese, your target range is 11 to 20 pounds.
• Talk to your doctor or a nutritionist to help you plan your meals.
• Don’t diet. Some diets can reduce the nutrients your baby needs to grow and develop.
• Don’t try to stay at the same weight or lose weight during pregnancy.
• Do something active every day. Talk to your doctor about activities that are safe for you.