Plus size pregnancy

[MrsB12345]

Hi everyone. I'm 5w5d and currently a size 20. When we decided to start trying I expected it to take at least 6 months....we fell pregnant straight away - first time we tried. Hubby is now congratulating his 'super sperm' on a daily basis (I had nothing to do with it obvs!😂

I've tried to find a thread for plus size pregnancies and can't find one so thought I'd start one up

I really hope I get a nice bump and don't just look and feel fatter x

another one here to give reassurance that you will be ine. bmi of 39-40 and 39 years old during pregnancy, had the baby in january.

be firm with your hcps. i begged to see a nutritionist early on but didn't get to see one until well into second trimester, which i think really missed the point . he said he could tell i knew what to do, and when i said i wanted to try for a weight neutral pregnancy, he advised that i should expect some gain and not to worry about it.

in the end, i put on 14kg, almost all in the last trimester. when i got home from the hospital i was dismayed to find i actually weighed more without the baby in me but by the next week it had all fallen off and i was even 3kg down. it was flui, which also explains why i could not walk, by the end!

at my booking in appointment, i was told that as i was low risk, i could go to the birth centre. at around 32 weeks, they started to waver on that point and then i was told it would not be possible after all. i pushed back and said they were looking at numbers, not the person. i met with midwife at the birth centre and after a lengthy chat she agreed that they would have me after all. however, at my request she also gave me a tour of the labour ward and i elected to go there in the end. it was important to me that i had a choice!

also, i was referred for an anaesthetist appointment. pleased to say this lasted about two minutes, most of which was him writing in my notes that i could have an epidural whenever i liked.

labour was pretty bad but that's another story and not bmi related. mother nature is kind and makes us forget the worst of it! i could not now tell you what a contraction feels like...

this was a bit rambly but i hope it may help those of you going through everything now. happy to answer any questions too.

Hi ladies thought I might join you, I'm 32, 1st baby, 27 weeks and have a bmi of 37 as I weigh 18 stone. Can't say I'm particularly fit or active, general all round chub.
Have had my GTT and that came back normal and at at minute I'm under midwife led care, which I'm happy with.
The only things I'm having issues with are my pelvis which is absolutely killing me, I have an appointment with a physio tomorrow morning so fingers crossed they can give me some advice. Some days it's ok, some it's pure agony.
I'm happy that I've almost got to my 3rd trimester and only put on 6lbs so far, me and my midwife are aiming for no more than 1stone weight gain through the full pregnancy.

Aww thanks for sharing your positive experiences, it's really empowering :)
Hi honey (who's username just got Manics stuck in my head!) good to hear your GTT were OK and sounds like you have supportive midwives :)
Here's my issue for this week - my stupid B belly! It's always been divided into a lower and upper by a deeply seated waistband but I was hoping pregnancy would force it to round out... but no! 31 weeks and just looking fatter rather than lovely, smooth D bump!

honey i had a bit of pgp. my advice is to walk as much ss you can on the days it's not so bad. also, lots of pillows to prop you on your side in bed, plus a large firm pillow between your knees.

prtpsn i found overbump leggings and tights helped smooth it out a bit. but as you progress it will likely round out a bit more too.

Currently laid on my left side in bed with a pillow between my thighs and two paracetamol 😩 Have had to ring in sick with it today for the first time, feel really guilty but I'm stood up for 10 hours at work so there's no chance I could have gotten through the day!
Prty I also have a top and bottom belly, waistband right across the middle where my belly button is, I've found that over bump trousers gives a 'smoother' look which makes me feel better about it.

Hi all :) really grateful to read everyone's stories.

I had my booking appt today! It feels sooo weird to have a folder of notes again.

I was upfront about the weight worries and the MW was really lovely about it, I will be consultant led (although I would have been anyway due to my health conditions). BMI is 42 :( although I did look at my weight and I've lost over half a stone since I last weighed myself, not sure when that was but happy anyway - I think it is probably mostly down to cutting back on fizzy drinks since new year TBH.

MW was understanding about the GD worries too so we talked about that, she said they may offer the test later as well as at the standard time, and will be keeping a close eye for symptoms in case it develops late.

I will also be getting extra growth scans because my second baby was so big, and they may induce me at 37wks if they feel growth is too fast this time (we had no idea last time how big DS was getting).

5 sleeps until my scan. Super nervous.

caglio glad to hear it went well and MW was understanding. It's standard here for high BMI to have additional growth scans as traditional measurements can be unreliable due to... now, what do they call it? Extra habitus? Fat, basically
Let's us know how the scan goes!
honey thanks for the tip - I have found its more bump like in maternity clothes but I chose to only invest in a few pieces since I can still fit into most of my usual baggy clothing

Hi ladies loving this thread. Was wondering does anyone know whether the bmi limit (35 here) for birth centre apply to your booking in weight or weight at delivery? I was under this at booking in but have piled on 3 stone at 31 weeks aaah. I can't find any info anywhere and don't want to ask midwife in case she weighs me haha. Hope you are all doing ok

Hmmm interesting question... I always thought it was at booking in but it not because if you're not overweight then they don't really weigh you again! I know for a water birth it's in case you pass out or need to be removed from the pool by staff so there's a maximum weight limit so it would make sense that it's weight at delivery.
In short, I don't know so I'm gonna shut up!

I would imagine it would be your weight at delivery, for reasons above.
prty I've so far bought myself two pairs of maternity jeans and that's it maternity wise, I'm a vest top and cardio person and I always buy long vest tops due to my massive boobs so they're (currently) still fitting, fingers crossed the do for the remainder of the pregnancy!

username i was only weighed once, at about twenty weeks. all my assessments were based on my booking bmi (which was self declared in my case). encourage your hcps to look at you and your medical history, not the charts. but also prepare yourself for some realistic conversations.

find a sympathetic friend who can be a sounding board (i love dh very much but he was too close to it all for me to expect impartiality when discussing my options and frustrations).

Thanks ladies; my partner doesn't even know what I weigh; I'm dreading him finding out more than the birth! And finding a plus size pregnancy in hot weather hard work.

I was weighed at my 25 week midwife check up and at the GTT appointment and at the diabetes clinic since then. Fortunately I've only put on 2kg which I think is 6 pounds so I don't think that's too bad, and the midwife was pleased.

What I'm finding difficult is that since I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes (I was only just over the limits) I'm expected to keep my blood sugar a lot lower than someone without diabetes. Even though my blood sugar is generally within 'normal' limits. As I pointed out, mine was just over but is usually under but now I have to keep it really low, but someone who was just under could have theirs over most of the time but will never be checked again. They tried to make me take Metformin which I thought was really overkill when my levels are 'normal' so I refused. I also don't have much confidence in what they're telling me - first that my baby will have dangerously high blood sugar when born and then that actually the baby's blood sugar will be really low which will give it 'mental health' problems. Well which will it be? I was also sitting in the appointment in a little room with 4 nurses/doctors standing around me and felt a bit intimidated and patronised.

This was after a 28 week growth scan that showed the baby is exactly the size it should be for its age.

Wow kits that sounds really awful - why do much pressure on you for what seems like very little rational reasoning! Well done you for staying strong!
Today's growth scan showed my little monkey is currently breech and estimated weight is slightly bigger than average but still within the centiles... a little worried if he continues to grow at the same rate though he may get beyond the top centile and they'll pressure for induction or c-section :/

I suspect I'd have been induced earlier if they'd known how big DS would be but they had no idea! Ironically though the birth was really easy and pretty fast

myusername i felt like that too. we didn't talk about it and dh still doesn't know my weight. i did make the odd comment about having to go for my "fat and old" appointments though. (they were a giant waste of time - a hoop-jumping exercise to keep the obesity police off my back.)

kits i wish i could say i'm surprised. can you get a friend to do a bit of research? (try to stay away from dr google yourself!)

prtypsn scans aren't all that reliable for weight. they're good for things like bone length and head circumference, but even then a discrepancy between one sonographer's idea of where a bone begins and ends and another can put your figures way out. hcps are obsessed with high bmi people having big babies but it's by no means a given!

also, i ended up having an emcs. it was not nice but the recovery was fine - took a few weeks and my initial worries about tum causing complications were unfounded.

Phew. Good to hear about people pushing back against the consultants. I'm gearing up for a battle here after being told I'm not allowed to use the birth centre. I'm planning to chat to my community midwife next week about the consultant's birth plan, which was horrible. I'm currently half way through my GTT, I had to drink a LOT of Lucozade!

I am dreading my GTT I nearly puked last time as that drink is vile!

I read the leaflet about weight and pregnancy risks and now I'm panicking a lot. So much more risk if bmi is over 40. 3 more days until the scan, I should be excited but instead I'm terrified TBH in case something is wrong. :(

Sorry to bring down the mood

Hi ladies. Been a little quiet from me lately - works been crazy. I'm approaching 11 weeks and symptoms are starting to fade although my face is spotty and I'm sleepy all the time. Our scan is 2 weeks tomorrow which can't come quick enough so we can see that something is in there. Seems mad but I just can't believe I'm pregnant even though I took 9 tests and have no reason to suspect anything has happened (no bleeding etc). Anyone else get this way?xx

habby the consultant's birth plan? are they having the baby then??

mrsb I felt EXACTLY the same! I was convinced they'd say it was a mistake when they scanned me. I know it's not much help but try not to overthink it, I'm sure it's going to be fine x
caglio my BMI is over 40, I know my risks but I also know many overweight people have safe, healthy pregnancies and deliveries. There's nothing you can do about your weight right now so focus on the positives and trust that your body knows how to grow and nurture life... cos it does :)

I know. She sent it through on a letter and none of it had been discussed with me at all, I'm not best pleased.

So, I just had a call telling me I have gestational diabetes. Great

Welcome to the GD club Habby! Do you know what your numbers were? Mine were 5.7 before the drink and 8.0 afterwards. The limit is 5.6 and 7.8 so I wasn't much higher and generally at home I'm below those two figures.

My fasting results were 5.4 and after an hour 9.5 and then 9.2 after two hours. I've got a meeting at the diabetes clinic on Wednesday. What did they advise you to do about managing it?

Thank you Prty
Just 3 more nights before the scan and then hopefully I can relax!