..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 think it’s a bad idea - I put on almost 5 stone in five months during my last pregnancy 😱 and I’m still struggling to lose the last 2. Frequent weigh ins might have helped- I honestly didn’t really realise how fat I’d got until it was too late!

I voluntarily joined a scheme where I got weighed weekly at home and the scales sent the results to my midwife, because I was obese at booking in. It was the best thing ever tbh, it helped me concentrate on being healthy and they never expected me to lose weight, just wanted to make sure my weight gain was steady. I ended my pregnancy 2 stone lighter than I started it and I definitely didn't try to lose weight, just kept healthier choices in mind.

I had both of my children in Dubai, I was weighed every 4-6 weeks depending on my next appointment. I can’t believe that in the uk you don’t get your weight tracked!

I put on less than a stone during my pregnancy.....it was living on Danish pastries and cake in the sleepiness months after my child’s birth that led to my shocking weight gain.

A lot of us were of course. When I had my first three you were given a cardboard thing with your details on and the nurse put on all the stuff about size of baby, blood tests and filled in the weight column each time you went. Iwas never done in a nasty way. They just put you on the scales and wrote it down - this was in1984, 1986 and 1988. I just assumed people were still weighed these days! I think it's quite useful now to be able to go back to those records and be able to see how my weight changed during the pregnancy and if you suddenly started losing weight they could check if there were problem. no one ever said I had put on too much ever in any pregnancy.

I had an interesting pregnancy, where I seemed to be losing weight gradually rather than gaining. Baby size was fine, though. I called it my ‘internal liposuction system’, but it did need monitoring (including regular weighing-in).

Don’t assume weighing is automatically somehow weight-shaming.

I put on a lot of water weight. I’m not sure how helpful it might be.
I was back into normal clothes every fast.

Where I work women are weighed at booking and at 36 weeks. I’d assumed that was NICE guidance already as we don’t seem to do anything unless it’s nice based.

Bmi is recalculated though I’ve always argued that calculating someone’s bmi at 36 weeks is stupid. If it’s gone over 30 at that point then they need continuous monitoring in labour and can’t use the pool.

And yes some drugs are based on weight. And in an emergency you can’t get a woman off the bed and onto some scales so it’s good to have an up to date weight.

I think at the end of a pregnancy estimating the childs weight is important. I know some women who think they should have been induced due to very large babies and being allowed to go over due date.

God as if pregnant women need any more stress.

Yes if someone is visibly putting on far too much weight a midwife should be able to have a chat with them about that.

But weight? No. Too many variables in pregnancy. Could be a big baby, or lots of water, or all the chocolate biscuits you ate. You wouldn't necessarily be able to do anything about 2 of those so what's the point.

I was weighed at my booking apt and that was it.

Being pregnant is hard work and if someone had told me i was getting too fat i dread to think what i would have said to them!!

Have just checked the current Nice guidelines.

1.5.1 Measurement of weight and body mass index

1.5.1.1 Maternal weight and height should be measured at the booking appointment, and the woman's body mass index should be calculated (weight [kg]/height[m]2).

1.5.1.2 Repeated weighing during pregnancy should be confined to circumstances in which clinical management is likely to be influenced.

I think the 'eating for two' myth needs to be dispelled. I was already overweight when I got pregnant and I was told to only gain a minimal amount. I did, but DS was still born with symptoms that suggested I'd had GD, his sugar levels were all over the place. I would pay more attention to my diet and weight gain if I ever had another baby.

I weighed myself obsessively throughout my first pregnancy. Ds was six pounds nine ounces, very long and super skinny (with a giant head). I went through phases of not eating because I felt I was getting too fat. I wrote down every single calorie I consumed and exercised all the way through to week 37 or so when my pelvis decided enough was enough.

With dc2, dh threw the scales out. I did gain more weight but not by much as was back below booking weight at 4-5 weeks pp. I think had I been weighed at every appointment, I would have been starving myself again.

I think if I had a 3rd and they brought this in, I would be refusing.

When the UK just did it automatically no one gave it a second's thought and it as just written on your card. We must have stopped it in the 1990s I suppose. I wonder why? I used to find it quite comforting to see. I was very sick in the first 3 months and lost weight and then put it on as expected and it was just a nice way to check things were going well.

I think it’s a good thing.

The UK has a major issue with obesity, and more importantly, people’s perceptions of obesity. A lot of people don’t know what a healthy weight looks or feels like anymore, and that bleeds into people’s ideas about normal pregnancy weight gain. A lot of people think it’s totally normal and unproblematic to gain 20+ lbs more than necessary, and all sorts of bad eating habits are treated as normal during pregnancy (then normal while breastfeeding, normal while clashing toddlers etc.)

You only have to skim Mumsnet to see that a lot of overweight and obese women lost control of their weight after gaining heavily in pregnancy. If being weighed stops even a minor percentage from ever getting into that situation then that will save the NHS a good chunk of change for very little effort.

i think instead there should be more educating, like the whole "eating for two" myth, and just how badly obesity can negatively affect both baby and mother, and just how many extra calories you actually need for each trimester.
But then I'm from the states where obesity is a huge problem and killer, and blowing up during pregnancy is harder to turn around than many think

I gave birth in the USA and they weigh you at your monthly prenatal appointments.

They weigh you and do blood pressure at EVERY doctor appointment over here - even if you were going for a sprained wrist etc.

I keep getting weighed at my MW appointments. Is so bloody annoying as I have had HG from week 7 so vomit about 5 times a day, regardless of meds.

They keep congratulating me for only gaining 2kg the whole pregnancy. I know this is because I am obese and no other woman would get that reaction.

The only reason I haven't gained is because I can't keep anything but Sprite and chicken nuggets down!

I was 13 stone when I got pregnant with DS, a good size16/18 due to my 40GG boobs, I was 16 stone 7 the week before I gave birth to a 6 pound 4 baby. I walked out of hospital 5 days after giving birth weighing 11 stone & was size 12/14 within a month. I had to buy a whole new wardrobe as my pre pregnancy clothes were all too big. I had just eaten normally throughout my pregnancy except for the last month when I was eating Rice Krispies like they were going out of fashion to cure my indigestion & heartburn. It's hard enough being pregnant, very often feeling grotty & hormonal without getting lectured about your weight.

Think it's perfectly reasonable... I say that as an over weight woman who was over weight withe last two pregnancies and was weighed at every appointment.