Overweight

hi girls, im becoming awfully distressed!!! i was always a thin girl but due to certain medical circumstances, i am now 110kgs. i also have pcos. dieting and excercise is killing me, well proving very difficult anyway, and we want to get pregnant, NOW! i have been trying to lose weight for 6 months and i became sick and in hospital and had to go on steroids and my weight ballooned and undid all the work i did - about 10 kgs. i am not concerned about the difficulty in getting preg, if it is meant to be it will happen, but i am more concerned about being my size and preg. will my husband think i am a big fatty boomba? is it dangerous? i want to enjoy my pregnancy, not sit around worrying about if my baby is in danger or hating the look of myself. now, obviously there are some self esteem issues and my husband is adorable and loving, despite my large weight gain he has been wonderful. so girls, at my weight, 110, can i safely carry and deliver a baby?????

:hug: Ellakins, it is so hard when these things are out of your control as well! My best friend recently had a baby and she was probably about 130kg when she fell pregnant naturally. She actually lost weight while being pregnant but was still over 120kg when she delivered. She did have high blood pressure during pregnancy but then she had high BP prior to pregnancy so it was to be expected.

Thanks for the reply. I am very lucky, i dont have high bp, or cholesterol and diabetes (although i understand that because i am overweight i am more likely to get gestational diabetes), i am relatively healthy, other than some knee surgeries and pcos im tip top. i hope your friend is doing well, and thankyou for the reply.

This is my 3rd baby and all 3 times ive def been over 100kg....i have safely carried 2 girls with no pregnancy complications and had 2 vaginal problem free deliveries.

While it isnt ideal...its not to be ruled out you cant carry and deliver safely.

Watch the hospitals though..i know most here in VIC will not take you on if your BMI is over 35....you will need to go to a big hospital. I am going to Monash....it was the only one (apart from royal womens or what ever its called...the other big one) that would take me.

My hossy visits are with OB's all the time and on occassion a midwife.

On you comment of gestational diabetes...i never had it the last 2 times...but doesnt mean i wont this time...HTH

Lots of larger ladies carry OK & give birth without too much difficulty.

Your choice of hospital however will most likely be reduced as a high BMI is classed as a risk. I think it's something to do with it being harder to monitor a baby during labour due to the extra weight. I was about 90 kgs when I was in labour (had been 76.5 at 5 foot 1 so about 20kgs over what I should have been pre pregnancy) and they had trouble getting a heartbeat several times, so I guess the more weight you have on the harder it gets. I was not on a monitor at anytime so they had to just do it by a doppler and you could tell it was really hard for them.

The good news is that I've noticed most bigger ladies tend to put on less pregnancy weight than what the smaller ladies do. A week after the birth I only had 3 kgs to lose to get back to where I was pre pregnancy (and it's still there unfortunately).

I didn't actually put any weight on til around 20 weeks, in fact during the first tri I lost weight. I even had some workmates not realise I was pregnant until the third tri and even then I had to tell them. I had a really easy pregnancy and I am no spring chicken.

My DF loved my extra curves whilst I was pregnant. He never went off me, it was actually the opposite. For most of the pregnancy I felt great & I looked it too as I was glowing - everyone kept telling me so.

I never got high blood pressure & I didn't get GD even though I was in a high risk group due to my age as well.

I've known a number of ladies larger than myself who've had no issues getting pregnant, staying pregnant & giving birth without any issues.

Thanks ladies, I am feeling somewhat encouraged now. It is extremely hard for me, I dont know anyone in this city and have no girlfriends. my husband is wonderful but his family not so much....i have all these fears and have nobody to talk to so i am grateful that you girls took the time to reply. thankyou.

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Lots of larger ladies carry OK & give birth without too much difficulty.

Your choice of hospital however will most likely be reduced as a high BMI is classed as a risk. I think it's something to do with it being harder to monitor a baby during labour due to the extra weight. I was about 90 kgs when I was in labour (had been 76.5 at 5 foot 1 so about 20kgs over what I should have been pre pregnancy) and they had trouble getting a heartbeat several times, so I guess the more weight you have on the harder it gets. I was not on a monitor at anytime so they had to just do it by a doppler and you could tell it was really hard for them.

The good news is that I've noticed most bigger ladies tend to put on less pregnancy weight than what the smaller ladies do. A week after the birth I only had 3 kgs to lose to get back to where I was pre pregnancy (and it's still there unfortunately).

I didn't actually put any weight on til around 20 weeks, in fact during the first tri I lost weight. I even had some workmates not realise I was pregnant until the third tri and even then I had to tell them. I had a really easy pregnancy and I am no spring chicken.

My DF loved my extra curves whilst I was pregnant. He never went off me, it was actually the opposite. For most of the pregnancy I felt great & I looked it too as I was glowing - everyone kept telling me so.

I never got high blood pressure & I didn't get GD even though I was in a high risk group due to my age as well.

I've known a number of ladies larger than myself who've had no issues getting pregnant, staying pregnant & giving birth without any issues.

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I just made a quick call to my preferred hospital - south eastern private, and they said that they dont have a problem with BMI - they said that they are happy to treat overweight mums to be so that is great news for me.

I moved her when i was preg with my 1st DD....i knew no one either...had no family...and no idea on hospitals!! So i know how your feeling...

All my few friends i have made now are all skinny minnys so its hard as well.

Anytime you wanna chat post away....

thanks, much appreciated.

Hi ellakins,

I have been in your boat, I too am overweight and i too have PCOS. I have delivered 3 healthy babies all vaginally, no complication labours. i did not develop GD with any either.

I am on a health care plan with my Gp as i have also come back to be insulin resistant. So with PCOS and being overweight i am in high risk of diabetes.I see a dietician and excerise physician. I did find that when i lost weight i fell pregnant, it was only around 10 kilo.
I know how hard it is to loose the weight, Im back at the start all over again. I wish you the best of luck

Thankyou. its very frustrating. i go to the gym most days but i cant do too much because of my knee surgeries. i lost some weight but i was recently sick and in hospital and was dosed up with mega amounts of steroids and put on 5 kilos. it gets really disheartening. my husband is fantastic and supportive but at the end of the day he doesnt quite understand pcos and why it is so hard fo rme to lose weight. i just want to give him a baby....

I'm really surprised that South Eastern don't have rules about BMI. All public hospitals do. Most public hospitals will not take the risk and you have to go to a hospital that can take the high risk births. It's my understanding that very few private hospitals have the facilities to handle high risk births. They wont tell you this though - they will just transfer you to a public one when things go wrong.

Have you tried cutting out trans fats from your diet? I did this after many years of not getting pregnant. I've been investigated for PCOS twice but they don't reckon I have it, just some of the symptoms. They couldn't find any reason for my infertility. I started to fall pregnant 2 or 3 months after I cut trans fats out of my diet. I didn't lose any weight but I did start getting pregnant and that's what I wanted more than anything else.

I will look into the trans fats thing. When I rang the south eastern they just said that they were private, so they dont have rules about bmi. i spoke to cleo, who i am familiar with as she is receptionist for dr vich, the obs, and she is really lovely, i trust her to tell me the best thing for me as she knows how anxious i am about it all.

Hi Ellakins,

I am currently at 20 1/2 weeks and started the pg at 104kg, I am now 106.5, I've been eating healthy but still have the odd cake and chocolate too. I've had a beautiful pg so far, no morning sickness and been feeling quite good overall.I still fit in my work pants and up to a week ago could wear my jeans, now I can too but can't button it as it's too tight
I've had pelvis issues,but had pelvis issues due to previous injuries in my skinnier days! So I would dare say that you may have issues with your knees, just because it was an old injury, but that would only be a guess. I know you can consult a dietician as well if you were really worried about it and they can design a diet that is healthy for you and the bub anf you can even lose some weight whilst being pg.

Wishing you lots of luck!

thanks for your advice, i agree about the knees though, but if thats my only problem i will be happy. im glad you are doing well, and goodluck with the arrival of your little one.

Hi Ellakin,

100kg+ with all #3. The only thing I think we need to watch out for is discriminating OB's! My #1 pg was healthy and going fine, had proteinuria but low BP and no swelling. Had knife happy ob who said at evey check up "Big baby, no more sweeties" I'm thinking What bloody sweets, I haven't had any sweet stuff!!! He coersed me into a cs when 38wks (although bub indicated that we were much earlier than 38wks) She was 6lb 15oz over 54cm with a 32cm head... I really hate that ob!

No one cared about my weight for #2 and as yet no-one has mentioned it this time (mind you I haven't had any more ob's)

The one thing stated is that overweight women have a higher rate of intervetions (probably due to the nature of the ppl around them thinking they need intvn's) and there is an increased risk of complications in an overweight pg, but this doesn't mean you. I'd say you have a better chance of going complication free because a lot of your weight gain is not due to unhealthy lifesyle choices.

I was overweight with Harrison. I had no issues with BP or diabetes etc, my bloods were always fine and I never had a BP problem. Major problems for me were SPD (over separation of the pubic bone) and bad aches in my pelvis.
I didn't put on much weight at all. I only gained in the 3rd trimester and it was around 4kgs in total. I put it all on again whilst trying to BF.
I personally won't put myself through another pregnancy where I am overweight. I found I was uncomfortable and in a lot of pain. I also missed having a cute tummy (which I had for my other pregnancies)
It can be done. I have a friend who has had a few pregnancies where she has been overweight and had no issues at all, and no pain!
I wish you all the best for a speedy BFP and a happy & healthy pregnancy :hug: