Obesity and Pregnancy: Risks and Prevention

November 17, 2020

Having a BMI above 25 during pregnancy can put a significant risk on your baby’s health. It can create complications while giving birth to the child, and there is a high chance of miscarriage as well. Almost one-third of all the women who are in the age to deliver a baby is either overweight or obese.

Risks associated with pregnancy in overweight or obese women are-

• Gestational diabetes
• Possibility of miscarriage
• Stillbirth and recurrent miscarriage
• High BP at the time of pregnancy may create complications
• Cardiac dysfunction
• Need for a C-section may arise
• Infections and longer healing time

Obesity can affect your baby too-

Having extra weight puts your baby at risk too, he/she might develop health problems like-

• Impaired growth
• Birth defects
• Asthma
• Childhood obesity
• Size of the baby can be larger than normal

Prevention – lose weight before getting pregnant
Losing weight is the best possible way to decrease the chances of having complications and minimise the risks that may arise due to obesity. If you can lose only 5% of your current weight, you can successfully deliver a healthy baby and stay relaxed.

Now the question arises here is-

How can you lose weight?
Just by doing some physical exercise daily, you can lose some weight. Be it swimming, walking, yoga or cardio; you are staying active and losing weight. Try to use the calories you intake; there should be a balance. Burn enough calories so that it doesn’t convert into fat. Eat a healthy diet and increase your physical activity. Don’t aim high; aim to be moderately active. Just 30-45 minutes of exercise is enough.

Now, if all these seems a task for you, you might think of taking medications to lose weight-
If you have tried taking healthy diet and following an exercise routine. But still having a BMI of more than 30, with medical conditions such as type-2 diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension, stroke and heart diseases, weight loss medications may seem an option to you. However, you should not take any medication if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant.

Bariatric surgery is the way out
Bariatric Surgery is the option for you if you have medical conditions along with obesity. For people having BMI greater than 30, diet and exercise don’t help if it’s not intense. In such cases, weight loss surgery comes to the rescue. After going for the surgery, you must wait for 12-15 months for pregnancy as this is the period when rapid weight loss is observed.

For any consultation regarding weight loss surgery, you may call on- 6232012342