To decline weighing

[diiidum]

I’ve just had my booking appt for my first pregnancy and I declined to be weighed and measured height wise. I am a healthy weight and size 10 and have an active lifestyle but don’t believe BMI is particularly useful. My sister was weighed and developed a bit of an obsession with the number on the scale and still has it to this day.

I came to this conclusion after research. Sara Wickham did a post about it recently on instagram, saying even if you had a ‘high BMI’ risk doesn’t usually change. At my appointment they were remarking on how low risk I was until that point but they said they will have to ask the consultant if they are happy for me not to be weighed, otherwise I’ll be high risk and might not get to birth where I would like.

WIBU here? If it’s a big deal I can always get weighed at the next appointment, that’s what I thought to myself. In the end they asked me to let them know what I was when I last weighed myself and then said I looked about that now, but they will note all that down and that I declined being weighed today.

I don’t want to be misinformed so doing lots of research on everything relating to pregnancy really, and reading all the books and internet sources I can.

Was I wrong to decline? Is there benefit to them working out BMI?

Can't you just tell them to write it down for their own info but not tell you unless it's crucial?

My feet went up a size due to two pregnancies.

I've read that you've now changed your mind. But please talk to your midwife about the worries you have about the effect it may have on your mental health. They can always get you suport.

I'm currently pregnant and having mental health support there's no shame in it.

Just get weighed. That’s what they do at ante natal appointments. No need for drama.🙄

I had an ED in my teens and just asked the midwife not to tell me my weight unless she had any concerns.

You need to be weighed , especially if you need a CS , the anaesthetic is calculated upon your weight .

I think you can sometimes make your feet smaller by losing weight actually. (although they also grow with pregnancy and age...).

If it makes you feel better OP, I got weighed once in my pregnancy - at the booking-in appt at 8 weeks. They never weighed me again.

As some posters have said, being weighed can be prove really useful for all sorts of reasons in pregnancy, but for many of us, they weigh us once and that's it.

The booking-in appt includes all kinds of questions which seems random. I remember they tested my blood to see if I was HIV positive and I remember thinking I knew I wasn't and they were wasting their time, but by including every pregnant woman in these things it just helps catch things they need to know (and I guess there will be the odd pregnant woman out there who thinks she's def not HIV positive and actually she is).

To warn you - the first Health Visitor appt also includes a lot of questions that they just have to ask everyone. You're likely to end up feeling some of those aren't right too for whatever reason, but honestly, just grin and answer them all. They do have their reasons.

And if it makes you feel better, the questions asked of pregnant women, and the advice they're given, does change all the time, because the NHS does pay heed to changes in our knowledge. They're sometimes just slow to implement it. There's every chance they'll decide at some point that BMI is a waste of space and stop measuring it or replace it with something else. The advice on when to give you baby solids has changed more than once in the last 25 years. And since my last was born 9 years ago the official advice on co-sleeping has changed dramatically.

If you want screening for Downs and other chromosonal abnormalities then it does need a weight - done on the day of the test, as otherwise the calculation cannot be done

You also cannot have a PERSONALISED growth chart, so will be done as generic

Some people also say happy for it to be done but don't document it in their handheld notes so they don't have to know (this is more likely with people who had eating disorders in the past and know it may be a trigger)

In our trust weight and height is usually done at booking. Yes it does calculate BMI which then in turn can help plan care. For example a glucose tolerance test may be offered for those with a BMI greater than 30 and growth scans may be offered to those women with a BMI greater than 35. It also helps work out VTE risk. Weight is then offered at dating scan if women have opted for combined screening as this information is included on the screening form along with other information.

Your height and weight also helps to generate a personalised growth chart which is used for plotting fundal heights and/or growth scans during your pregnancy

You can decline to be weighed or opt for your weight taken but not shown to you if you worry that this may cause you some stress.
I do agree that BMI is outdated but at the present time it’s the standardised tool
used within the NHS

We also take a 3rd trimester weight usually around 36 weeks which can help with some drug/anaesthetic calculations. Again this can be declined. Informed choice is important as is respecting individuals wishes.

congratulations on your pregnancy

You sound like you’ve already become like your sister! They’re not interested in your BMI which given your dress size is probably quite low, It’s usually to compare the weights as your pregnancy progresses.

You can always ask them not to tell you your weight if you're concerned you might start fixating on it.

Don’t listen to all the people telling you to comply. It’s a recent thing. For years they didn’t weigh you. I had three pregnancies between 1995-2003 and wasn’t weighed once, nor was it suggested. It’s also unacceptable and wrong for them to claim it will limit your birth options. You can birth where you choose. I’d actually make a fuss about this and nip it in the bud.

I understand where you're coming from OP. You can ask for blind weighing. So you don't see or know what your weight is. I have a history of disordered eating and explained this at booking and they were happy to support by blind weighing and only when absolutely necessary. I knew I was overweight- so did they just by looking at me. Wasn't really any need to weigh 😅

BMI was designed for populations and not individuals. Gym bumnies have incredibly high BMIs despite looking like starved whippets. A few years ago I had a check up and despite resembling a running snake, I was given a diet sheet. So I tore it up and complained.

You could just do what I did and avert/cover your eyes and ask not to be told!

I presumed they wouldn't have asked to weigh me if it wasn't necessary, so just politely & sheepishly said I'd close my eyes for the weighing 😅 - The midwife understood entirely - Outright refusing seems a bit odd to me personally but to each their own!

You can be weighed and ask them not to tell you I used to stand on the scales backwards when I was recovering from an eating disorder I didn't know my weight for years but my drs did so everyone was happy

Just get weighed. Ask them not to tell you.
I had a general anaesthetic recently and had to be weighed for it and due to some issues surrounding weight in the past I just asked them not to tell me what my weight was. Got weighed. They wrote down the number and didn't tell me what it was and that was the end of it.

What are the Public Health qualifications you hold which inform your view that BMI is ‘outdated’?

Just don’t look if you’re that bothered. It seems you might have a problem already with your attitude towards it.

Op I think you've realised this already but I think you have been ill informed not to get weighed. Medical professionals are not asking you this to shame you for eating too many cakes, they are literally trying to assess possible risks to baby and you during pregnancy. Weight at booking gives a rough idea of whether you'll be high risk, allows them to track weight gain as pregnancy develops , can keep eye out for rapid weight gain due to pregnancy triggered diabetes etc., helps with calculating how much folic acid to take, prescriptions for drugs at hospital later on etc.
Can't you just let the midwife weigh you and just look the other way??? Seems such a drama over nothing.

10 years ago things were different though. Younger, fitter mums, less obesity, better staffed wards with better standards of care. No ability back then to choose a c section just because you wanted one either.

If you are "doing research" make sure it's peer reviewed journal articles and not just random websites.

Of course you can say no but be aware there is a reason they intervene in births - to save lives. From a medical perspective a live mother and baby is more important than a "natural" birth

I was really happy to be weighed, even though I'm a fatty, because I wanted them to inject me with the right amount of drugs for the spinal block in my C-section. Just do it!

YABU why would you put your baby at risk?

I think you are being a bit fussy but I see why you feel this way. Also, I’m sure you can have the birth you want regardless of your weight/bmi, they can only advise.