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??

The point of giving the information when pregnant is that there is absolutely bugger all pre-natal care on offer.

Exactly what Towndon said.

If the leaflet said "You will....." then it is inaccurate.
It should say "You are at increased risk of" or "It is statistically more likely that you will..."

The NHS are a big enough organisation to employ decent copywriters. So OP YANBU in being angered by the quality of writing in the leaflet, and I would make a complaint about it.

If you're angry that ANY leaflet would be given out to overweight pregnant women then I would say YABU, but I don't think that is what you are angry about.

I'm saying it's ironic that a fat person was telling me not to be fat

She's employed to tell you that you are putting yourself and your unborn baby at greater risk.

Her body weight is neither here nor there is it?

Not really.
That's not irony at all.
Her weight is nothing to do with her advise to you as a midwife during pregnancy.

She may well be fat, but unless she's pregnant - I don't understand your problem.

If a non-fat person had made that comment, ALL HELL would break loose, it really would.

So make a rational complaint about the specific wording you feel is inaccurate then

Had a look on the nhs website and it states that there is no evidence that losing weight in pregnancy lowers your risk of anything, it's the weight you were at conception that's important. Which by the time you're getting this leaflet is a moot point anyway. So it makes you wonder what the point of it is?

www.nhs.uk/Planners/pregnancycareplanner/Pages/Overweight.aspx

Very best of luck. I always enjoyed the fact that until the last two weeks, whenever they were about to tell me off for something, my data proved them wrong, left them looking like stranded fishes. Ha! (but I do recognise that I was lucky and the statistics don't bear me out.)

i recently had my booking in appointment for baby #6. the midwife explained tat due to new guidelines, that werent in placwe when i had my son in jan, i HAVE to meet withthe consultant about my raised BMI and any issues that can occur.

however, as i have had 5 normal births, with no complications, bar gestional diabetes with baby #3 but not in pregnancies 4 and 5, no historys of clots etc etc, i am still low risk. ui have had a home birth with baby #4, and hoping for one for #6 as well.

i would hate that leaflet, and would also be contacting them about the wording. as i havent had a leaflet then am not worried.

Congratulations misdee! I didn't know you were pg again. Fabulous news.

There's been more and more research recently about the risks of obesity in pregnancy. Which is why you're probably getting the leaflets this time and not in previous pregnancies. Cmach report showed obesity to be the biggest risk factor when looking at maternal deaths.

YABU. It's not drivel, may not apply to you directly as you seem to have no health problems- but being 13 stone and 5"2 is obese, and obesity CAN cause problems in pregnancy.

And it's clearly struck a nerve with you. Perhaps you're not as comfortable as you seem?

Elaine, it's er, rather well-known that the majority of dieters will end up heavier.

Baby number 6! Wow you must be crazy millionaire!

our local pct says if your bmi is above 30 then u have to see the consultant. am guessing he'll decide on whether someone is higher risk?

i am overweight, i know that, and until PND struck after ds birth i was well on the way to losing more weight (have lost a lot of weight since dd3 pregnancy/birth).

millionaire? in money terms no, but life is a miracle, and so is the fact we're able to extend our family. theres a lot of love in my house

It's drivel to say obese women will have high blood pressure.

my blood pressure is always on the lower end of normal. never been raised at all.

Is it drivel or is it just badly written?

I can see the argument for saying an obese woman will have high blood pressure because it will be higher than if she had a bmi of 22. Biology dictates that it will be. However it may still be in normal range.

So maybe it should be worded you may have blood pressure problems or worded your blood pressure will be higher than it would be if you were a healthy weight.

So, er, timewasting no-one should try to lose any weight?

It's clearly badly written, but if it's in the normal range it's not what would be classed as 'high', regardless of whether it would be lower if not obese.

Elaine, no, people shouldn't diet.

The "You will have raised blood pressure" is not necessarily true in such context. NHS publications are required to be accurate. That particular statement in that context is neither accurate nor correct, and therefore - if such statement does indeed exist in any NHS publication - it will be amended. All NHS publications are scrutinised prior to publication, so I am surprised that such statement does exist in NHS published material, but it does happen. I sit on a committee that scrutinises NHS publications, and I remember one Diabetes leaflet being sent back for a re-write, but that was 1 leaflet out of many, and the statement was nothing like the ones in the OP!

Anyway, if it does exist it will be found and amended.

I would like to see this leaflet - I don't actually believe that the OP is reporting its contents accurately.

I'm not saying she's playing Jackanory - but I do wonder if all that shock and disgust confused her comprehension.

Are all NHS leaflets online?