..but who would want to be weighed when you're pregnant to make sure you're not getting too fat!!

[Chocolate50]

The Government are considering weighing pregnant women throughout their pregnancy.. who thinks this is a good idea?
I don't btw, I think there is enough tests and stress during pregnancy without putting in this austere measure, should they not be just trying to emphasise healthy living and diet and just leaving it up to women and families to make their own choices? how patronising..

I don’t see a problem with this at all, they used to weigh pregnant women at all appointments. I was weighed at every appointment in my first pregnancy in 1997. By the time I had my second in 2004 they only weighed you at your booking in appointment. I didn’t have scales of my own so I just asked them to weigh me at every appointment out of interest, but they didn’t write it on my notes. I wanted to check that my weight was ok and I wasn’t gaining too much.

I had twins and was weighed regularly too. Between two heavy babies and water retention I was massive so it was another way of keeping an eye on me! The kind nurses used to write the weight in kg though so I didn't understand it and wasn't depressed by how much I got to...

In my area women are routinely weighed during prenatal appointments.

It's not so much to make sure they aren't getting too fat; rather, it's to track their pattern of weight gain.

Obviously, there is a "recommended" amount of weight gain during pregnancy, but that number can differ quite a bit depending on the woman.

We look for warning signs. A sudden gain of several pounds can indicate that a woman has a problem, such as fluid retention due to heart failure or pre-eclampsia.

It's not about policing. It's about looking for warning signs.

They used to weight pregnant women anyway - so maybe they stopped for a while and are now thinking of re-starting. When I was pregnant with twins the nurse said "You have put on more weight than would be idea" I was like "Yeah, and I was fat to start with!" She was 10 times more embarassed than me, no idea why.

I think I'm of the mindset that using it as a discussion point isn't so bad, but when you start having rigid targets you are going to run into trouble.

You'll have women freaking out about being just over or under and midwives who lack the common sense to being slightly relaxed about that.

And where would it leave people like me who were already suffering with anxiety and were under care for that?

I genuinely tried to eat well during pregnancy and kept an eye on my weight gain but could not stop putting it on. I didn't have any issues with GD. Nor any other health issues during pregnancy apart from mild anemia. DS was an average size.

Having weigh in and pressure about my weight gain would have made me pretty hysterical: it wasn't as if I wasn't aware of my weight gain.

It might help some but I do think it would harm others too.

It was routine when I had my DC who are now 25 and 26
During second pregnancy I got told off each time for not gaining enough weight
Not much I could do about that as I was so sick and couldn’t eat much so spent 14 weeks total on antenatal ward with a drip
Not sure what they thought I should be doing different

Lockheart
“eating for two” - which you should not be - isn't this a myth? who seriously in the current culture really 'eats for two'?? no one really does this anymore do they? its the sort of thing my granny would say & she's been dead for about 30 years!

It’s no more patronising than having your blood pressure taken. ?? really?? if someone feels that a health professional (or anyone for that matter) are weighing you because you don't know how to look after your diet, or that fsr during pregnancy your normal senses somehow desert you and you start sitting around stuffing crisps and chocolate all day or whatever...I mean... is this really necessary as a part of pregnancy? that's the question. And what about people who have issues with their body image ? who struggle everyday with food and maintaining weight and health, these aren't just a 'few' people either. It is rather short sighted to simplify this issue and make it just a personal one, midwifery isn't policing someone, it is more about a relationship that you build our of trust and the experience you have you will likely never forget, positive or negative, so please don't misunderstand me when I say it is important to get this relationship right, for the mental and emotional health of mothers and babies.

The fact is that many people don’t know how to look after their diet. The currently obesity figures are testament to that. Pregnancy is a time when this is more important than usual.
I agree that rigid targets would be counter productive, but I don’t see the harm in monitoring it for health purposes (mother and baby)

@Chocolate50 it is still a thing, a number of my friends have come out with it (we’re all under 30!) and I’ve seen it on mumsnet posts more than a few times. Some people still believe it.

And noones said midwifery is about policing anyone. Midwifery is concerned with the health of a person in pregnancy; that includes their weight, among many other things.

Midwives also need to examine (and sometimes be elbow deep in) some very intimate places - so I think asking someone to stand on a set of scales is positively impersonal and mundane in comparison.

I wasn't weighed as I was diagnosed with bulimia years before pregnancy, I was completely healthy throughout the pregnancy and passed all tests (blood, urine, diabetes) tests with flying colours so I'm happy they didn't weigh me as it may have unfortunately brought out the worst of my illness... baby and I were fine and that's all that mattered.

And I'll add that visually I didn't gain any weight elsewhere, so my midwife wasn't concerned about any weight gain/loss as the only thing that grew was my stomach

I was weighed at every appointment, I assumed this was the norm? Ds is 5 months so recent pregnancy. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing to keep track. We know the average amount a baby and everything that goes with it should weigh so I think it's a good idea to be aware if you're gaining hugely over this amount. I'm always shocked when I read about women gaining 5+ stone during pregnancy, pregnancy-related weight gain is c. 2.5stone so everything over this is just excess fat that will need to be shifted afterwards

On a practical level as an anaesthetist it’s useful to have a recent weight to guide drug doses. If blood thinning injections are required to prevent DVT/PE then more than one dose a day is required above certain weights so again important to have a recent weight.

The argument about being weighed regularly helping to pick up GD is null and void (at my hospital at least) as from 2014 every single woman is given a Glucose Challenge at their 28w appointment (glucose drink and blood test an hour later and if reading is outside of healthy parameters you get booked in for the proper GTT). I was under community midwife but everyone has 28w appointment at the hospital

You are weighed at booking appointment only and if your BMI is not in the healthy range then you automatically have the GTT at 28w.

I'm actually surprised at the number of women who say they'd have found it helpful to have been weighed as they hadn't realised how much weight they'd gained?? It's not rocket science is it?

I and anyone I know have only been weighed once at booking in. Funny how it differs!

I put on the same amount of weight roughly with both pregnancies. First one I was eating healthy. Second one I wasn't.

Weight on its own is not an indication of health or a healthy lifestyle. I guess it all depends on how they will be using the information. What will they tell mothers who put in too much weight? How will they advocate preventing too much weight gain? What about mothers with oedema? Weighing on its own is not the issue. It's how are they actually going to help and support mothers maintain a healthy weight in pregnancy?

First pregnancy the midwives lost my notes so i had two check ups and was weighed in both. i put on half my body weight again. I put it on very quickly into the pregnancy as well. I was constantly hungry during the pregnancy and ate like i have never eaten before. I was so underweight prior to falling weigh that actually i think its what my body needed. Im heavier and bigger than i was pre DC (although not over weight). I genuinely believe i needed to eat the volume i did to feed the baby and myself as i was just too under weight before.
Had i been tracked by the midwives I'm sure they wouldn't have been happy as i put so much on so quickly. But honestly the hunger was unreal!!

Subsequent pregnancies i started at a good weight so didn't put much on, didn't over eat and wasn't constantly hungry.

I think it is a good thing to be weighed during pregnancy . I had my babies in the 90's and was weighed throughout all my pregnancies. It was routine and everyone had their weight monitored.
I put on 3 stone with my first and found it difficult to loose the weight afterwards. 2nd time round I was determined to eat a healthier diet and take regular exercise. Nothing too strenous, I just walked to work and back instead of getting the bus. In the end I put in just over a stone. Me and baby were fine and believe I recovered much quicker because I was fitter and thinner.

Here in Spain it is standard practice and if you gain more than 10 kg then they ask questions about hiw much you are eating.

I was weighed throughout pregnancy. I had no problem with it as I wanted to make sure I was gaining the correct amount of weight.

I still have my antenatal cards with my weight recorded for all four pregnancies. I put on three stone with my first, which was mostly water, but I remember being so uncomfortable I made sure I watched my diet for the other three. I only gained around 20lbs for the fourth one, probably because I never sat down till I went to bed with all the running around with the other three!

It was routine, and it didn't bother me at all. A pal of mine lost weight near the end of her pregnancy and they monitored her carefully to check all was well with the baby because of it.

In my home country it is standard for pregnant women to be regularly weighed throughout their pregnancy. It is standard for everyone at run of the mill doctor's appointments as well.

I was shocked to only be weighed once while pregnant here.

I was weighed throughout my pregnancy and in the later stages I was actually weighed every 2wks as I developed GD.
However, weight gain would not be an indicator of having GD. I put on a total of 7lbs (with a 8lb 3 baby and huge placenta!)

@gassylady I had a EMCS under GA and was at least able to tell them how much I weighed because I’d kept an eye on it (although I had been weighed at some appointments you obviously put Most of the weight in the last months) I remember thinking in the panic imagine having absolutely no idea (and I was over 3 stone over my natural weight so I don’t think I would’ve been able to guess really!)

I was weighed during my pregnancies, don’t all women? you’re meant to put weight on during pregnancy anyway..