to think that the NICE guidelines on obesity and pregnancy are just yet another way of pissing off pregnant women?

[PerfectDromedary]

I'm 9 weeks today, and trying to enjoy a first, very much longed-for pregnancy. But as far as I can work out, NICE is out to get me - and the 40% of pregnant women who are overweight/obese when they conceive.

Am I being unreasonable to think that the medical profession has just put on their judgy pants about yet another aspect of women's behaviour while pregnant? It seems highly unlikely that going on a diet while pregnant is a good idea - plus, if I don't have something in my stomach at all times, I'm quite likely to throw up...

(NB I may also be a little bit hormonal. But seriously, ffs.)

FWIW I think BMI is a bit rubbish anyway. Having lost a lot oof weight and now in size 12 jeans I am still overweight according to my BMI .

The media are prone to jumping on a story and reporting just the bits that will scare/persecute rather than the whole picture. You only have to look at the way the 'credit crunch' was reported on to know that. They have alot to bloody answer for!

No woman should be made to feel guilty about her weight when pregnant, she should be guided & supported. It's a tough enough time without going through it with a side order of guilt.

I put on 3 stone when I had DS. I lost 2 stone of that within a week of the birth so it was clearly a combination of DS and water retention. Says to me that whatever I did when I was preggers I would have put on at least 2 stone regardless so beating me over the head would not have done much about that. As it was DS was born overseas where my nice Ob/GYN never once mentioned my weight. DS born naturally, no drugs, short labour.

I know NICE's guidelines are what they are and fair enough. But whatever happened to personalised healthcare. It seems pretty dreadful to me that HCPs should see what boxes a patient fits into and then decide on the best treatment or advice on that basis. I can't see that a one size fits all approach can deliver the best outcomes for anyone. I know the NHS is stretched but I don't see that is a reasonable excuse. I also don't need to be patronised and I think tailoring health advice to the lowest common denominator and giving incorrect advice (in case some dozy women can't be trusted to take responsibility for themselves) is just a lazy excuse. I am a person not a flippin statistic and I deserve healthcare advice that's right for me, not my demographic.

My BMI has always been a bit (to a greater or lesser extent) north of what it should be. I had high blood pressure before I conceived DS. My GP looked at my BMI and said my high BP was due to my weight. So I worked hard, exercised, ate better etc and lost 25lbs. You know what, my BP went up even more. Turns out my high BP was nothing to do with my weight, it was stress related due to my massively demanding job. Changed jobs 6 months later and BP droped to normal very quickly. I am the heaviest I have ever been right now and still have normal BP becuase I am not stressed out. At the time my GP never even asked me about stress or advised me that this could be a factor. I know its good to lose weight but thats no excuse for duff medical advice and undermines the relationship between patient and HCP.

The point I am making (rather long windedly) is that excessive adherence to "guidelines" like this can mean that some HCPs don't stop to look at the person in front of them and tailor their advice appropriately. Or causes them to place too much emphasis on a factor that may have a greater or less degree of relevance depending on the person.

So OP YANBU to be a bit vexed about this.

Oh and also my GP told me when I was very sick with ms that if all I could keep down was McDs milkshake then do it! (I didn't have one btw) But how's that for conflicting advice?!

Yes, Altinkum, you are making a point. Making a point over and over again whilst ignoring what Drom actually said, how she said it and why.

Everyone here agrees with the facts about weight and health and pregnancy. If you can't grasp that then you shouldn't be posting. The anger is about how those facts and guidelines are being presented in the media. At no point has the OP or anyone else stated that they think NICE has made them up just to bully them individually or that NICE is lying/wrong, etc. It is helpful advice - but the way it's being used to make women feel bad is anything but helpful. That's all the OP and others are saying. No-one is actually taking it personally. Could you PLEASE take a second out from your need to keep stating your opinion to see that?

I find the fact that adults can't grasp the sarcasm in the posts of the OP and others (me included) v dismaying. Where are my guidelines on dealing with irony fail?

Scorpette - " far as I can work out, NICE is out to get me - and the 40% of pregnant women who are overweight/obese when they conceive.

Am I being unreasonable to think that the medical profession has just put on their judgy pants about yet another aspect of women's behaviour while pregnant? "

No mention of the media there.

TheCoalition - read further on the thread, the OP clarified what she meant later on.

I think a few people are missing the point about "diet in pregnancy" you can easily (bar any nausea of course!) revise your eating habits and switch to healthy foods. If pre-preg you indulged in foods high in fat and low in anything else, well it isnt really a dangerous diet to then switch to 5 a day, good mix of carbs, protein and fat, high calcium etc...this might be viewed as a "diet" but really it is just healthy eating! It doesn't have to be dangerous or low in nutrients of calories, and it will benefit any little bean!! Surely this is just common sense and easy to do once any nausea has passed?

I think you are a bit paranoid if you think that this is just another stick to beat pregnant women with. There are all sorts of NICE guidelines that look out for women and seek to support them. The media is a different story though - not much time for the media!

It is obvious that being fit and healthy before, during and in the year or so after pregnancy will stand you in good stead for having a healthy baby, a quick recovery and an easy(ish!) time losing the baby weight. It is also obvious that if more fat women were not fat (and I mean really fat eating too many pies really fat, not clinical disorders fat), there would be less of a cost to the NHS in all sorts of ways. Do it for your country if you like, although I think we have totally lost the idea of doing anything for our country .

I don't know what the big fuss is about tbh, sorry .

Yes - two hours later, after another post accusing NICE of misogyny.

Saying this thread has always been about the media and didn't start as attacking evidence based advice because you didn't like it is somewhat revisionist.

What is the duff advice?

I know this is very pedantic, but I just wanted to chip in re the OP's comment: "NICE does have form in making very sweeping recommendations based on the fact that women are stupid, though - cf. all the debate on this site about whether or not you can have a drink in pregnancy. "

I believe it was actually the Department of Health (completely different body) who issued the guidelines recommending no alcohol in pregnancy because women are apparently too stupid to understand the concept of a unit

By contrast, the NICE alcohol guidelines are more evidence-based and currently state that 1-2 units once or twice is a week is ok.

I realise this may seem pedantic - but I think that it's an important point as, actually, NICE guidelines are usually fairly sensible, even when inconvenient.

My apologies, I made you repeat yourself.

This guy has found that cutting down sat fats doesn't aid weight loss?

I don't get it. Cutting out any fats would aid weight loss, surely, as fats are the densest form of calories?

I think the point is that it doesn't matter whether the calories come from fat or starch or whatever. Calories are calories.

I'm bowing out of this thread because there's no point in debating with so many people who are making it obvious that they've just read the opening post and then totally ignored the OP's further comments and keep commenting on what they think she's said.

theyoungvisiter Ta for the correction! Good to know that I shouldn't tar NICE with the same brush.

TheCoalition I didn't say that this thread has always been about the meeja. I have, though, acknowledged about a billion times that I was out of order to have a go at NICE about this. If I could go back and change the OP, I would.

I would still argue that evidence-based advice becomes a stick to beat people with, and that there is a level of misogyny in the way that women's health advice is often delivered.

I'm sorry, I do not know what 'what do your dispel' means. It makes absolutely no linguistic or grammatical sense. And no-one believes the nastily-written articles, just hates the way they're written, how hard is that to grasp?

Aye - and the ones ignoring that the OP's positioned changed during the thread and quote responses to the first position to try and show other posters to be unreasonable.

Thanks keepmum, I'll look on amazon.

Now get back to work

PerfectDromedary - Then I agree with you.