worried about obesity

hi all,
i will try to be as honest as i can here as i would like to here from other big mums, i am 35 and 22 weeks preg with number 6 and i am very obise over 150kg not sure of my exact weight but i dont think its any more then 160.
i went to the hospital today for 2nd appointment all my tests so far have been totally normal all blood work is good still have glucos test to come though.
the hospital seems a little freaked at me and are dancing around a bit my oyher 5 pregs were normal and i was maybe 10 kg lighter with the last but that was 7 years ago and with that bub they never freaked out however this time i have to meet with an anithisist in case i need a c section im guessing as he wouldnt go into why i had to do this i know that being this big and a smoker (trying to give up) are all no nos but as i have never been small had first bub 17 years ago and was 130kg then.
why do they have be so negitave if this was number 1 and i had no history to go off ok but its not i know things can go wrong with any delivery but as they wont descusse anything with me its not helping im stressing and then today the doc said my utarus wont be as strong as it was so the longer he stays the better (yes we are having a boy)when i asked if there was a risk of early labour he wouldnt answer me i cant be the first fat mother of 6 they have ever had to deal with.
sorry for my rambling but i cant even find much info on the net about morbid obesity and pregnancy .
thanks

Well, i'm overweight, i guess they would probably call me obese, however i am under 100kg and PG with my first bub..so i don't have much advice for you i'm afraid.. however i would like to give you a huge :hug: of support!!! You are VERY courageous going for number 6 !!!!! WOW!! congrats!!

Maybe with the way society is these days re political correctness etc, they are "afraid" to tell you stuff...?! just in case you took it the wrong way and sue them for discrimination..?! could this be a reason they are not providing the answers..? just a thought..! i dunno....

keep you chin up and good luck, i hope the rest of your pregnancy is a wonderfully happy one! :)
xx

With my first pregnancy every dr i seen had no problems with me being overweight. The hospitals did as in VIC they go on BMI so i could only go to 2 hospitals (that being the large hospitals). When i aksed why i was a risk i was told because if i needed a c/s then there may be a possibility giving me an epidural would be harder cos more layers to go thru and more care need to be taken. Epi might not work etc etc.

What im still to work out is, if i was to go in for a normal operation im NOT a risk...but to have a baby i AM a risk?? I dont make sense to me!!

All tests come back clear. Glucose was never a problem (even after so many say 'fat chicks always get gestational diabetes'). Thats so untrue, i know of girls who are skinny or average who have said 'im normal i wont get it' and they do...then question why they got it when they are so healthy and 'normal'. That annoys me.

Because im big im put in to a category :(

Anyhow, with my 2nd pregnancy,new dr and he had major problems with my weight. I was told im wasnt allowed to gain ANY weight due to me size. Each time i gained he would have a cow at me...even if it was 500grams he would have a go at me. I got to 30 weeks and couldnt stand him always putting me down so i found a new dr who was the best. He said no matter what ur shape, size or weight you can still birth a baby how you wont. Sure theres a slight increase of risk....but still can do the same thing as a 60kg chick.

I went on to have 2 girls, all birthed vaginally and no problems for me or bubs...

All the best.....congrats on #6 and having a lil man.

What gender is your other 5 kiddies?

I am also quite over weight, not quite obese on the BMI but almost there! I was told with pg#1 that if I got to 115kg I would have to have my baby at a boger hosp. I didn't get that heavy, but I reckon only coz I lost weight in first tri from being sick!

with this pg, I started a little heavier, but again lost weight so they sren't hassling me this time, but a friend who is due any minute, had probs with them... they told her the same as they did with me the first time.

I had GD with pg #1 and waiting on results for this one, and I was completely controlling it with diet, no insulin.

Ok so I have completly rambled here... just letting you know that I am hearing you and that you have proven 6 times before that you can have a normal and healthy pg and birth.... try not to let them get to you...

With Kat, I started out at 90kgs, after the birth, I managed to get down to 107 again, but no lower. I did not gain any after my second, but this time I have started off at 115kgs. By my scales, I have gained maybe 2kgs so far, and I am happy with that. I am healthy, I quit smoking when I fell with number one. I am going thru Nepean hosp in sydney and no-one has even mentioned my weight to me. They don't seem that concerned. Having said that, they sent me stright for the long GTT. I guess thinking I was at higher risk even tho my last two pgcies were GD free. Anyway, I never got a call back so I guess I don't have GD.
I have noticed tho, Nepean hosp has a higher rate of obese women attending their clinic so maybe its not something they comment on here. My last two I coped a fair bit about my weight (went thru Blacktown hosp).
I think hosps do balk at bigger women, I don't know why, ok well maybe I do. Some op tables are lower weight rated, also there is a higher risk with Anaesthetics etc, but to me pregnancy is not an illness and if a woman's body is able to fall preg, then it should be able to birth too! Its horrible to be treated as if you have a disease when all you are is a bigger girl who is pregnant!
And not being allowed in the birthing suite, having to go thru labour ward, Yes, if there are complications, fair enough. But I feel we should be treated as human beings and the same as any mother to be. If it bothers them so much, monitor us closer, but give us the same damn rights!
Sorry, can u tell I feel passionately about this subject?

I'll stop ranting now...

This may be useful......

BellyBelly Forums ~ Pregnancy, Birth & Baby

Fat chick here. I don't know what my BMI is but it's high. I think I weigh about 130kg at the moment but am still in my size 20 stuff, so I feel ok about that. Lucky I'm tall I guess.

Anyway, I'm going through the Mercy in Melbourne and the first time they saw me (in the normal clinic area) the dr (or whatever she was) went on about my weight and sent me to the dietician. Diet woman then proceeded to tell me that I didn't need to "eat for two" blah blah blah. They also booked me in for a glucose test thing at 20 weeks as I was considered HIGH RISK. So, I did all that.

I then transferred to the family birthing centre and they are fine with that. They thought it was disgusting that I was made to do that test early and that I didn't have to do the other one if I didn't want to. I did, but just the short one and all is fine.

2 other girls I know have GD and are SKINNY! I was sure I'd get it, after all the stuff the dr said but no, seems not!!! HMMM!

I had to laugh at the dietician telling me what to eat. I said to her, "listen, I used to weigh over 150kg, got down to 90kg and have only put on all this weight as I spent a year living with an a**hole and used to spend every day knocking off about 2 bottles of wine and a block of cheese. I'm quite aware of how to eat properly, thank you. Now back to your salad!" ;) I have only put on about 6kg since the start of my pg (first bub).

So, yeah, discrimination, negativity. We get it outside the hospitals so I guess it's silly of us to think they'd be any different!?

My hat goes off to the midwives at the Mercy, Heidelberg with many thanks for treating me like any other patient and not the "high risk fat chick".

Hugs to anyone feeling cr*ppy or disriminated against because of this.

xo

hi ,
wow dp you know i didnt think anyone would reply to this thread not sure why but....
thanks girls i guess i just needed to know there were others out there who feel the same, sure i know im fat and that there are some extra risks but same as most of you i have never had gd with any of the others and its not like i have no birth history even with that i know things can go wrong just because the other 5 were fairly straight forward dosnt mean this one will be easy, and as for why thay should be any differant in how thay treat us,i feel like they should because they are after all profesionals and should no that not everyone who is large is that way just from stuffing there face all day (and no im not saying this isnt all my fault).
i sort of feell the same as some of you if my body did this even after being told we would never be able to have anymore then hopfully my body will be able to do what needs to be done and i am sure it will .
we have 1 son 16'and 4 girls 14 ,13,11 and 7.
well girls thankyou

Hi all,
I'm 26 and currently 18 weeks pregnant with my first. I started my pregnancy at about 140kg but I'm only 5"2- so my BMI is absolutley ridiculously high.
I'm going private because i can, and also since im imediatley high risk, hardly any of the public hospitals would take me anyway.
plus, I was told i would never get pregnant on my own- funny that!
My ob has been fantastic- just wants minimal weight gain and having GTT early as I already have insulin resistance in relation to PCOS.
I guess I have been lucky so far in that I havent faced any discrimination- yet! All the ob said to me was that my weight is an issue- but if im not worried- either is he.
All the best to you all!

Fraz - good luck with your pregnanc, a 2nd boy!

Neeky - I have insulin resistance due to PCOS too and was CONVINCED I would get GD. Not so!

H&H preg to all :)

Hi ladies,
I'm 26 and currently 30 weeks pregnant with my first bub. I now weigh 120kg. I started my pregnancy at about 108kg, so I've put on 12kgs :( . My dr has major problems with my weight. She goes off everytime I gain weight. She tells me I'm putting myself and my baby at risk, don't I care about my baby ect ect. If I put on any weight before an appointment, I normally go home from the appointment crying. My doctor has been away for 6 weeks, I see her in 11 days. I was 116kg before she went away so I have put on 4kgs since she left, so I am dreading the appointment. I have had the GTT and I don't have GD.
I hate feeling cr*ppy and like a bad mother who is hurting my baby everytime I see the dr. I would do anything for this baby. I hate being fat and I hate being treated different because of it. Sorry for rambling.

Hugs to you all.

Honestly i do not see how you can't gain weight in a pregnancy! A baby weighs on average what 3kgs? Then youve got the fluid and extra blood that's another say 3-ish kgs. Plus your boobs grow a bit and your uterus and what not. So of course you're going to gain weight! Unless they want you to lose weight and then be the same as you were before pg, dieting to lose weight is dangerous in pregnancy. Sorry about the rant here i just get so damned annoyed when doctors and the like discriminate/comment on weight (no matter what you weigh) when you're pregnant and to say not to gain weight (i think that is kind of impossible). I weight just under 100kg and both pregnancies they havent even weighed me so were not concerned at all and i went thought the birth centre las pregnancy. But i still feel so bad for those who do get commented on. It's just not fair. *hugs* to you all!

Off my soap box now haha!

hi
jojo you are not a bad mother and dont let anyone say you are as you may have read this is bub number 6 for me and i had my first almost 17 years ago and i waighed 120kg then, i have had 5 very health full term and except for the last 2 that were both over 9lbs the rest were nice average weights so dont worry i have never had GD either and they are still going on about it like its a forgone conclusion that i will have it.from everything i have read most of the danger of being obese are to myself not my child mind you at my weight it is apparently almost impossible for me to be preggy,i dont think they really know if it will cause a prob they just use it as another way to make us feel guilty have you noticed how much guilt there is with being pregnant or at least how guilty they try to make us.to be really honest i think its the luck of the draw i have friends who do everything by the book and it still gos all wrong ,with my last bub i smoked 50 ciggys a day and she was and still is perfectly health and weighed 9lb11oz so i dont know i have friends who drink while preg and all there kids are fine who knows i dont think they know anymore then us when it comes to the mysteries of child birth so keep your chin up and dont let them get to you.
night all

I think the main issues with most health care 'professionals' is that they see someone as being 'fat' and imediatley assume that we either dont care, dont notice, or arent healthy. Oh- and obviously fat chicks dont get pregnant- which is why no retail stores stock maternity wear over a size 18!!!
If my body, against all the medical advice I recieved, got pregnant, than I'm going to have faith that my body can and will deliver a happy and healthy baby!

Thanks ladies. Is it dangerous to lose weight in pregnancy? My doctor said it is safe. I read that its not safe. So I don't know. But its hard enough losing weight then ur not pregnant, how do they think ur going to lose it when ur pregnant. Its amazing how differently people treat you when you are overweight. I loss weight then put it back on. I was 120kg when down to 80kg had a very stressful year when back up to 108kg, got pregnant and now back up to 120kg. The way overweight women are discriminated against is appalling. I think the way retail stores do not stock maternity wear over a size 18 is discrimination. We should sue them!!! Do people think we don't care and that if they make our lifes a bit more distressing and painful, we might notice??

It is dangerous to lose weight in pregnancy because the baby may not get enough nutrients etc. You can however just eat healthy but not diet as such.

I dont think its safe to try to loose weight during pregnancy- my GP said I could- but my OB just wants me to try to limit how much I put on- in almost 19 weeks I have put on only 3 kilos- although my body shape has changed dramatically. I'd lost nearly 20 kilos before I fell pregnant but put on 10 + of that before I got pregnant.
The important thing is to make sure you are eating healthy I think. Dont starve yourself or the baby. Its the nutrients that are important. While the baby can grow and be maintained on the mothers fat stores- it doesnt get all the nutrients that it does from food.

Ive never been a 'normal' weight- may have been classified as just overweight a few years back though- so I've never been treated as 'normal'. I'm used to not being able to find clothes that fit!

Monique

PS- i noticed some of you were in the newcastle area... none of you would happen to know where to get maternity bras from would you?? my only non underwire's are sports bras that have been stretched to within a cm of their lives!

JoJo- Don't let anyone ever make you feel like you are a bad mother. As for that Dr I would tell her that she is employed to look after you through your pregnancy and if she cant do that in a professional way i.e without the criticism and judgement about your weight then you wiould like to be referred to a diff Ob. When I was in hossy before I had my DD I had a Dr tell me(because he couldn't get a vein) that if I didnt lose weight I was going to die and what would happen to my baby then. I put in a complaint that it was unprofessional since I was there being treated for my Pg and not there to be belittled by an insensitive and arrogant trainee Dr.

I was 120 with my 1st pg 130 with my 2nd 135 with DD and now I'm somewhere btween 145-155. I put on almost 20 kg with my DD in fluid in 3 weeks I was in hossy.

I'm a size 26 and yes I found it extremely annoying that I couldn't even find a bloody maternity bra let alone something that would fit me when I actually started to "show"! I eventually did in bras n things but it was on the bottom rack right at the back- how the hell a normal pg woman could get it but an o/w one, I had to get the sales assisstant to get it.
I've been watching this thread since it was started but have been too scared to post but after reading the latest posts it has infuriated me as to how these so called "professionals" can be so gutless and heartless.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRR. Breath. Think Happy thoughts.

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Is it dangerous to lose weight in pregnancy?

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You may find that, if you are conscious about eating a healthy balanced diet in pregnancy that you lose weight without much effort. Or that you only put on a small amount of baby weight, then once you give birth, you will notice that you are less than you were when you started.

With all 3 of my pregnancies, it was the only time I was really following a totally well balanced healthy eating approach.......(when I am not pregnant/breastfeeding I tend to snack on a lot of crap!) I only gained around 6kg in each pregnancy, then when I gave birth, found that I had dropped around 15kg.....then breastfeeding made me lose more too.....

So to answer your question, don't put yourself on a "weight loss diet", just eat what you know is healthy for you and your baby..........(for me, I knew that no baby ever needed a Crunchie bar or a can of Pringles.......LOL!)

before my baby I was hovering around the 98kg mark when she was born I had dropped to 89kg and my doctor said that when you breast feed you can eat more 'cause your body is working hard creating milk and will burn it off (totally false in my case) the chocolate and sweetfoods I had gone right off in pg I craved with avengence and I am currently 102kgs (trying to loose bit more before IVF attempt in Feb)
I had a D&C last Tuesday and while I was waiting to go to theater I heard the nurse talk to the operating staff about the obese patient (I can only assume they were referring to me) and the operating staff said well our table is only rated to 150kg. Way to calm an already nervous patient. I felt so crappy with myself but I had no issues during my pregnancy or during the natural birth of my dd, and my FS hasn't mentioned any need to reduce my weight .
I'm sure we would all love to be thinner but the current trends don't tend to reflect that this is the case so surely this is would be a more common issue in hospitals now, I don't know? they certainly need a lesson in patient sensibility!!!!!!! all the best with number 6,

Hi just wanted to add my bit in. with my 1st pg i only gained about 2-3kg so i was obviously losing weight most of the time. i wasn't dieting as such, but ate normally and done alot of walking. i am at the same wait now as i was when pg with DS and im sure ppl are going to go on about my weight but i know i was born to give birth so ppl aren't going to put me down about what i can and cant do!!!
the only "DOWN SIDE" to carrying extra weight when pg is the strain on the back in 3rd trimester and the workload of the heart. but through my pg with ds i managed to feel better than ever by over hauling my diet and moving more and drinking lots of water. the extra dietrary requirements for women who are pg is the equivalent to an extra salad/chicken sandwhich a day. so there s no need for major changes to the diet. if a pg woman was eating dangerously low levels of calories per day than thats just silly.
my goal is this pg will be like my last and to focus on eating the best foods for baby and getting some rejuvenating energy and preparing myself for the birth :)

I am suprised at all these health care professionals that critcise but dont provide women with tools to help themselves. I was big at the start of this pregnancy, and because I had gained 17 kgs with my DD and still had 10kgs to loose when I fell pregnant again I asked to see the hospital dietician to help me maintain my weight throughout the pregnancy. I have managed to only gain 6 kgs for my entire pg, and I am feeling really good about it, and I know I am not putting my baby at harm because I am following a recommended eatin plan to ensure I get enough of the nutrients I need for myself and my baby.

So my recommendation to anyone who is being hassled by the ob/hossy about being overwieght is to ask them for some assitance to maintain their weight rather than just criticise.

hi all
as to the bra issue if you go to bras and things they will order you in the ones you need if they tell you they dont have your size tell them to get them in unfortunatlly they will cost you an arm and a leg i brought them there for last baby wich was 7 years ago and they cost me $70.00 each not breastfeeding this time so i dont need to worry to much in that department. as for the profesionals its got that bad that i dont even want to go to my appointments and just the thought of having my baby at john hunter almost brings me to tears i keep telling my hubby and other kids im having it at home to wich they totally freak out at but thats how i feel right now.
ok girls take care .
frazaled