to be completely shocked and disgusted at the leaflet I've just been given by my mw???

[mummylovesnancy]

This leaflet, titled 'Raised BMI in Pregnancy' was passed on to me by my midwife at my booking in appointment yesterday. Along with the words 'You can't have a home birth, you probably won't deliver naturally and you'll be given consultant led care.'
I'm 28, I have 2 PERFECTLY healthy children who both have perfect height to weight ratios, eat well, are active and are generally normal children. I weigh 13st and I'm 5'2 which puts me in the 'obese' catagory according to the good ol' BMI index of wonder. I have been roughly this weight and exactly this height for all of my adult life. I am overweight, I accept that, but what I don't accept is being told to read this sodding leaflet which tells me, among various other little pearlers, that:
*I will have raised blood pressure. (Not 'I may', 'I WILL')
*I will be prone to urinary tract infections. (never had one in my life!)
*'Bigger Ladies' (exact wordage) get more blood clots. (Dumb Fuck)
*Examinations will be difficult. (Why? Because you have to part all my layers of fat to get to my vag?! How fucking degrading)
*I will have restricted mobilisation. (Will I? Because I don't now, will it automatically come with being fat and preggers?)
*Putting in a drip will be difficult. (yeah because my hands are so freaking chubby.)
*Breastfeeding will be challenging (I've managed it with two babies, now because you've changed your guidelines I think I might struggle.)
And my favourite one yet:
*The risk of stillbirth or your baby dying in the first 28 days is increased in 'larger ladies' (Thanks for that one, nhs, I just had a misscarriage 8 weeks ago. Was it because I'm fat?)

It also mentions on about 7 occasions that I may want an epidural. Is that to keep me quiet?! It also offers to refer me to a dietician and a counsellor.

I have been overweight (or a larger or bigger lady, as the nhs prefers) and given birth naturally twice with absolutely no complications and one of them was a home birth. I can't believe I have to read all this shit. The idiot who wrote this doesn't even know how to place an apostrophe or comma ffs!

Does anyone agree with me that this is a disgusting, degrading, scare mongering piece of shit or am I being an unreasonable pregnant wreck??

Towndon No-one mentioned 'physically perfect' either.

Jesus christ handbag who anywhere has said that fat people are stupid, lazy, greedy.

And where did it say you shouldn't stuff your face (or words to that effect)?

The overeaction on here with genuine issues regarding being overweight/obese/cuddly/larger (whatever is acceptable...) never cease to amaze me.

The leaflet is badly worded and I would never, ever give that to a patient. That said, by the time pregnant women are referred to me, they have gestational diabetes and so yes, I do have to enquire about what they are eating or it would be a dereliction of duty on my part.

Worra, quickly as in within a couple of years.

What about the small risks associated with being a larger lady do you consider to be selfish?

YANBU - sounds very badly written, even if the information it contains is (for the most part) accurate, and important.

It would be a better leaflet if it contained information on ways fat mums could optimise their chance of a normal birth (ie, exercise in pregnancy, low GI diet). It would be much more empowering to be made to feel that there was something you can DO to try to improve your birth outcomes.

Weight loss is so difficult - it's all well and good telling people they ought to lose weight, but if it was that easy there wouldn't be half number of fat people around as there currently are.

"Whata crock of shite. At 13 stone you are definitely not obese. Talk about scaremongering"

Interesting how being overweight has become so normal that someone can be carrying an extra 40/50 pounds and not be considered dangerously overweight.

Ridiculous, ill-informed leaflet - they're increased risks - ie. they can happen to anyone, but if you're bigger they're more likely (and not always even very much more likely)

I too am in the wobbly bracket (and have been since childhood), and they had real trouble keeping the incredulity off their faces as I toddled into every appointment perfectly healthy and mobile with ideal blood pressure (didn't even put on weight until the last few weeks). I got sent for all sorts of extra tests - thyroid, glucose, cholesterol etc. which I always came out of with excellent results to their great disappointment.

Towndonwhat a ridiculous post.

Just ridiculous!

Because everybody who isn't fat, is physically perfect in every other way aren't they?

Op it sounds awful! I just got the 'evils of epidurals' leaflet rather than 'who fucked you fatty?' (lol) leaflet. I love this. I might change my nickname to whofuckedyoufatty.
How very dare I have a loving husband (who loves my fatty parts may I add - lol), a good job, a nice house and a lovely family and possibly want to make my little family that little bit bigger??!! (excuse the pun). How incredibly SELFISH of me!

Chunky why do you assume they were dissappointed that you maintained good health?

Do you actually think that they would want you to get sick?

What the heck is unhealthy about losing weight over a couple of years??

Jesus fucking christ, where is this thread going?

Physically perfect, HCP wanting patients to get sick, nice houses etc...

WTF?

chiclet, people like their expectations to be met.

It sounds craply written
but OP also sounds in denial
One minute shes saying shes got a bmi of 33+ the next she doesn't need to be told this stuff

For what its worth I had leaflets telling me about the risks of drinking, smoking and being overweight in pregnancy for pretty much all 4 of mine and I am neither a smoker, drinker or overweight.

Congratulations btw op
I hope you have an easy and mobilised pregnancy and birth

How very dare I have a loving husband (who loves my fatty parts may I add - lol), a good job, a nice house and a lovely family and possibly want to make my little family that little bit bigger??!! (excuse the pun). How incredibly SELFISH of me!

YOU are dressing it up with candle light and soft music now OP.

You are clinically obese and therefore you are putting yourself and your baby at greater risk of complications.

I'm sorry but that's a FACT no matter how many healthy children and pregnancies you've already had.

The NHS are not there to blow smoke up our arses, they are there to look after us and our children.

chunky your comment about HCP's being disappoibted in your good health makes you sound extremely paranoid.

I wouldnt get too worked up over it. speaking as someone whos done a yr of my midwifery degree, yes there are risks with a raised bmi, but the tone of the leaflet is appauling I agree. Also the statements are largely directed at people who have a massive bmi, think 50+...in which most of the statements are true, many do get high BP, examinations are hard as you do have to hold back peoples fat,blood clots are more common as people with a high bmi are generally more inactive, palpating the uterus is difficult as there is so much fat and it becomes hard to tell what you are feeling, epidurals are difficult and much more dangerous becuase the spine on very overweight people is hard to find-most have to have preplanned epis using ultrasound.

Id love to know why the breastfeeding becomes a issue...thats news to me!!

I had baby#3 july last yr, at the beginning of the pregnancy i was 13st, by the end i was 15st+, Im also 5ft2, I had a meeting with the head of the unit and was allowed my waterbirth on the highrisk unit. I had no problems whatsoever and the only different treatment i got this time was they asked me to wear teds afterwards.

Biggest pile of shit I've ever heard and as an HCP, quite fucking insulting.

Being overweight doesn't seem to be the biggest of your problems, you need to work on your persecution complex first.

Actually, several people on here need to

Oh goodness, of course I don't think they wanted me sick, but a couple of them did love to lecture, and did seem rather disappointed that they couldn't say 'I told you so' when the results came back from whichever test they'd sent me on.

Worra you're coming over as a bit of a bitch tbh. I'm fat, I'm also trying to get pregnant, at the same time as trying to lose weight. Why are you trying to make me feel shit? Should I wait another year until I've lost the weight and then try? Oh, I'll be 40 by then, and it'll have been 5.5 years since we started ttc not 4.5 like it is now. Stop saying foolish things to deliberately upset people like the OP.

Last post to timewasting

ROFL - some people on this board really do take things very seriously. I came out of my appointments hiding a grin, not angry that they were persecuting me!

Jeremy, not unhealthy normally, but if you lose a lot of weight before getting pregnant, you'll probably put it back on while pregnant. Can't give you the reference, I read this a few years ago.
Dieting, ie. restricted calorie intake often results in vitamin and mineral deficiencies though, which is a terrible way to go into pregnancy.

Love to lecture, you mean do their job?

Had the leaflet told you that you should lose weight, that you should eat healthily/cut out fatty/processed foods and exercised more etc it would have slammed it as patronising.

Losing weight over years is unhealthy...WT actual Fuck?