do they really humiliate Bigger BMI pregnant women now?

[KillerRack]

I am a bigger BMI, and have anxiety issues.

I've been turning my own stomach recently worrying that in hospital they will make me you have to use a fat person delivery room, or a huge bed or god knows what.

just need some reassurrance it hasn't turned into a circus really?.

AIBU to worry so much??.

Gosh I hadn't realised what a huge strain being obese was on our maternity services, consultant lead care?? Jesus Christ.

Surely, like all addictions, you should get hold of your weight issues before you try and conceive.... where at all possible.

I was told I wouldn't ever conceive actually posie

What is your BMI roughly KillerRack? Are we talking a bit big or very big because I think that is what makes the difference in the treatment you will get on the NHS.

I know plenty of people with a BMI of 30-35 who have had fine experiences with the NHS, I think that BMI range is fairly normal. I think once you get towards a BMI of 40-45+ then they probably see that less frequently and so you might be more at risk of being treated differently.

Slightly off topic, the range of BMI and what people look like is really interesting, I've just been looking at this photostream on Flickr www.flickr.com/photos/77367764@N00/sets/72157602199008819/with/1455482846/ take a look. Some I agree with and some I look at and think the BMI is a poor indicator.

All consultant-led care means is that you get seen once a month by a doctor not a midwife (NOT necessarily a consultant - I've never ever met the consultant whose care I'm under!) in case any other risks materialise in the pregnancy - women often get referred back to midwife-led care if the pregnancy is progressing without problems. When i go for my appointments i would say at least 80% - 90% of the women also waiting for the doctors are not overweight so my anecdotal experience is that consultant-led care is not being placed under strain by the obese. This is of course only anecdotal.

All this is a bit of a diversion from the OP's original question, to which I've already answered that I've certainly not seen evidence of being humiliated or shamed; I've been treated professionally with the emphasis being on maintaining a healthy pregnancy weight.

I had to argue with my midwife to be booked into the midwife led unit - the only contraindication was that my bmi was over 25! So, there are guidelines, but be assertive, especially if you're otherwise healthy with a low risk pregnancy.

WorraLiberty - What's the difference in 'willfully' putting your baby at risk due to a nicotine addiction and 'willfully' putting it at risk due to a food addiction?

I'd say that the major difference, is that once pregnant, a smoker can drastically reduce smoking related risks by choosing to stop smoking completely.

An obese woman who gets pregnant, however, can't go on a diet to get to a healthy BMI range without risking the health of the baby. Although eating healthily and trying not to put much weight on during the pregnancy may help reduce the obesity related risks.

Actually [hides behind sofa] it is safe to lose weight while pregnant, so long as you dont crash diet or make major changes......

Lonely
I agree, once you are pregnant there is not much you can do about the fact that you are obese except stop the situation getting worse and live as healthily as you can.

BeyondtheLimits
I got told off for losing weight when pg with DS2.

True Lonely but look how many people TTC whilst smoking or obese?

And often not just the once either.

There is some evidence that losing weight between pregnancies may also be a bad thing! You're damned if you do and your damned if you don't.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1558627/Diets-between-pregnancies-put-babies-at-risk.html

No, that says "Going on crash diets between pregnancies" is a bad thing.

Not the same as losing weight at all.

No that isn't what the reseach says it may be the spin the journo put on it in the opening lines.

"But researchers, writing in the British Medical Journal, found that women whose body mass index (BMI) fell by five or more units between pregnancies had a higher risk of giving birth prematurely. Dropping five BMI units is roughly the equivalent of a 5ft 6in woman losing 2st (from a BMI of 32 to 27)."

If you are obese a BMI drop of 5 points would normally be considered desirable whereas in a normal weight woman that might be a crash diet. It does also point out that your BMI going up between pregnancies is also a bad thing.

But the pregnancies could be 5 or 10 years apart?

WorraLiberty - I agree that, ideally, people should try to get to a healthy weight / stop smoking, drinking etc before TTC.

I also think that the pregnancy risks associated with obesity aren't as widely publicised as the smoking risks. It's easy for women to think that there's no major problem with being fat and pregnant because it's not really talked about much.

But, it'd be more helpful if women were told about all this before they got pregnant. At least then they'd have a chance to do something about it.

I agree Lonely I think it seems fair game for some people to hoik their bosoms at smokers who get pregnant but they'll rarely hoik at obese pregnant mothers and perhaps that's because they don't understand the dangers.

Which brings me back to my original point

Maybe now there are far less smokers around and far more overweight people around, the NHS are concentrating on the latter as the most common high risk group.

I also agree that ideally people, including myself, should be a healthy weight and not just because they are TTC. I am fully prepared to acknowledge that my obesity is a risk factor and I am doing something about it slowly but surely. Obesity is a much wider issue than its undoubted effect on increasing risks in pregnancy.

I do question whether a long post listing risks to an obese pregnant woman really serves a useful purpose especially when they are posting about anxiety.

I have had long-term anxiety and unfortunately put on weight just before I became pregnant so I understand how you feel. However apart from the booking appt, I was never weighed and then it was only to note the type of care.

At every appt I have been overwhelmed with the care I received and my weight has barely been mentioned, in fact one mw said how nice it was to see a nice normal healthy pregnant woman. It was really encouraging and I kept to a really healthy diet throughout the pgy.

Unfortunately I have developed GD and I have to face up to that, but even then the care I have received has been very positive and helpful. From what I had read on here I was going to be in for a rough time but actually I needn't have been so worried. I hope your fears are similarly allayed and you enjoy a happy healthy pregnancy.

Well to be fair the long post was in response to her ignorance (meant in the true sense of the word and not as an insult) regarding the 'main risk' being having a big baby.

I can't see anyone not wishing to put someone straight when they've got it so very wrong.

blonde if a MW described you as a 'nice normal healthy pregnant woman', then the chances are you're not obese.

The OP however has described herself as morbidly obese so there's a huge difference there.

Worra
You can't see why pointing out risks that she can't change at this point to someone who has anxiety issues might not be good thing?

Oh well.

Chaz it's not a private chat room and I don't think it's helpful for such an ignorant post to go unchallenged.

I'm sorry if the OP has anxiety issues but she raised the 'big baby' issue.

Worra perhaps you have issues reading? I said I was told my biggest risk was having a big baby, its not something I just made up, fair enough if its wrong but tone down the bitchiness jesus christ.

Its funny how many topics crop up on here on 'pregnancy makes women loose autonomy' and how many women who choose to drink 'moderate' alcohol and 'choose to smoke' are wrapped up in cotton wool and its not okay to 'judge' them.
But its open season on overweight people, plus I also pointed out maternal smoking is treat much more leniently, which it is. it was much more cut and dry a couple of years ago and quite a lot of pregnant women still drink and smoke its not gone down a huge amount.

This thread has already been derailed enough maybe its best leaving it as its bringing unpleasant posters out of the wood work.

I know that's what you were told...hence my post pointing out that you were told wrongly.

Please can you point out where I've been bitchy if you're going to throw accusations like that around?

IME and perhaps it depends on area, pregnant smokers are most certainly warned of the dangers and given advice on giving up...some are also ticked off by medical staff if they admit the baby was planned.

But I don't see where I'm being unpleasant?