Is anyone else plus-sized and pregnant?

[TiffanyAtBreakfast]

Hi all. I'm currently 4 weeks along, and a UK size 22. I've been big for ages and knew my weight was an issue - so I've been exercising and eating healthily for several months, which obviously worked as I'm happily now pregnant.

I did of course know the potential implications of being overweight when we decided to try, and while I'm over the moon, the worry is really taking the shine off. This was magnified last night by my mum saying, "I thought you were going to wait until you were slim and gorgeous first?!" when I told her the news .

So I just wondered if anyone here had a positive experience of plus sized pregnancy, or maybe anyone in a similar position? I plan to continue with healthy eating and gentle exercise throughout the pregnancy. (please be nice to me, I am a bit delicate right now!)

I'm not in a similar position but just wanted to give a few words of support. As long as you are prepared for the obvious (High BMI means some extra tests, possibly consultant led care, likely to be offered lifestyle support etc) there is no reason you can't have a healthy pregnancy. I believe the general consensus is rather than encouraging you to diet, your midwife is likely to encourage you to minimise weight gain. If you are planning to exercise and eat healthy then you are already on the right track.

Thanks so much for the supportive post WaitingForEgg. What does lifestyle support involve?

I have a high BMI but other than filling in a form, nothing different has happened. I am CL care, but I would be anyway due to unrelated health problems.

I had very high BMI for both my pregnancies. I had no problems at all in either. I was under consultant care for both, but the first time it was just occasional appointments with the consultant and fortnightly appointments with midwife in last trimester. I also saw an anaesthetist near the end, just so she could check me over if I ended up needing an epidural.

For the second pregnancy I saw the consultant once and that was it.

In both pregnancies I actually lost weight at the start because I was more careful and stopped any alcohol.
Both normal vaginal births with no complications.

Good luck and congratulations

Some areas are pioneering lifestyle support programmes where dieticians or specially qualified midwives talk through nutritional choices etc with you. I believe you can decline if you don't want to be involved, but it's meant to be to improve the health of the mother and also encourage them to promote healthy lifestyle choices when the baby is older. But i'm not sure how many areas this happens in yet.

Ah okay, well that sounds interesting - Thanks for the info.

Honeysuckle and MrsPeel1 it's such a relief to hear that, thanks for posting! I feel less anxious already.

Tommys the pregnancy and baby charity have a free booklet about keeping healthy in pregnancy. I know because my mw directed me towards it as I am overweight. I'm sure its full of stuff you are already doing but you could always get to show your mw that you are well informed.

Unless you have any other health issues, I really wouldn't worry - pregnancy isn't the time for intentional weight loss. All you can do (and should do) is carry on with your healthy eating and excercise - that's a great thing to do in pregnancy anyway.

You have a higher statistical chance of a few complications like gestational diabetes, but that in no way means you will get them. The stats work on a population level and don't really tell you much about you as an individual. You might be advised to not gain as much weight as someone with a lower BMI, and you may be consultant led at first.

Keep eating healthily and excercise whilst listening to your body. You may want to ask your mw/doc if you should take a slightly higher folic acid dose as well (some evidence that larger women need more.)

Congratulations!!

Hello! Congratulations! I'm the same as you, size 22 bmi of 41 before pregnancy. I'm now 38 weeks pregnant and can honestly say my weight hasn't been an issue throughout. At all! Same experience as pp in so far as I've been seen by both midwife and consultant, and extra checks are done like seeing the anaesthetist. But I don't feel like it's been too ott. If you have a healthy diet and are active, they seem to leave you to it. There are higher risks involved like gestational diabetes, so this is tested. But it's all for the benefit of you and the baby, and no medical professionals I've been seen by have been in any way judgmental.

My pregnancy has been healthy, BP fine, no diabetes, baby seems happy. So I'm hoping for a natural birth (like, tomorrow would be good!). If I'd have waited till I was slim, I would never have got pregnant!

The midwife asked me if I wanted lifestyle help, which as pp has said is diet and exercise advice. I declined and this wasn't an issue either.

So I'm sure you'll be fine :-). I worried at the start too but I dhould have sVed my energy!

Woo congratulations.

I'm 4 months with number 2 and again I'm same size (22) as I was 6 years ago.
I've been taking little walks out and about to maintain and not gain as I was advise both times at booking in.

Thanks all, these replies are so great, wish I'd posted sooner! :) really appreciate the responses. Planning a nice long walk tonight around the local park if the rain stays away.

What a mean thing for your mum to say! Slim and gorgeous do not always go hand in hand. Being healthy and happy with yourself is far more important. Anyway, even though my weight wasn't my top issue when TTC, I hadn't quite quit smoking, which I had hoped to do by the time I was actually pregnant. Of course, I caught a lot quicker than I expected, resulting in going cold turkey. Nobody is perfect, at least you made some choices on leading a healthier lifestyle beforehand - just keep doing that and you'll be fine! Just keep in mind - looking after yourself is looking after you growing baby. Good luck for the rest of your pregnancy .

Thanks Mrs. I know - My mum has a way of being rather blunt. In the past I've had to directly ask her not to keep going on about my weight as it wasn't helpful...!

I was the same size as you when I fell pregnant, after losing a stone. I carried on eating healthily and my weight stayed the same throughout my pregnancy. My neighbours didn't even know I was pregnant. I sailed through the pregnancy and had a very easy birth and left hospital over a stone lighter than when I fell pregnant.

I know, I gained a lot of weight in my teen years due to depression and comfort eating. Comments from my naturally-skinny family members were often unhelpful, sometimes downright mean. I then lost a lot of weight - they said I looked ill and unhealthy . With some people you can't win, you just have to find what's right for you. And don't worry too much if you feel you've put in weight in the next few weeks either - my bmi went from 25 to 28 in the first eight weeks, I don't know where it came from! After that everything calmed down and balanced out. I think I even lost a bit in my second trimester (more energy to walk). I'm 37 weeks now, and quite frankly it doesn't make much blooming difference at my 'start' weight, I'm still a big old preggo lady now. Never thought I'd be glad of a big bottom, but so grateful to have something in the back to balance out bump/boobs .

i was similar size with both mine. had problem free pregnancies and easy births-one with no drugs at all.

I was a size 22 when I got pregnant. I'm also type 2 diabetic so I was consultant led. Other than that I had no issues and had a baby boy by section last week. He's perfect!
I found that I just bought bigger pants and leggings and wore my usual tunics, t shirts and skater dresses. By 20 weeks it was obvious I was pregnant not just fat.
I gained 8kg, mostly after 32 weeks, and I lost 10kg since having him. So I'm lighter than when I got pregnant. I didn't eat for 2, nor did I watch what I ate particularly. I just ate a reasonably balanced diet

I weighed more in my first pregnancy than with this one and to be honest I've been more ill now than before. I did get gestational diabetes last time but I have PCOS and there is a risk for GD with this. I also have a blood clotting disorder which means this time I ended up with blood clots in both lungs a few weeks back. As long as you are otherwise healthy I would say don't worry too much. Just try and focus on eating healthy and not putting too much weight on in pregnancy. Don't deny you're the occasional treat though. I am aiming to stay the same weight. I'm 14 and a half weeks now and have actually lost a bit of weight in the past few weeks.

Congratulations on your pregnancy,OP. Just to warn you that you will probably get quite a lot of risks quoted to you and extra appointments as others have mentioned. Try not to be offended or upset by these references, it can be difficult for the HCPs sometimes to offer advice around weight without actually mentioning the fact that someone is overweight or obese.

Another time it can be difficult is during scans as there is quite simply more layers of flesh to be seen through and navigated. I'm sure all the staff will be non judgement and kind but be aware it can be a little difficult.

I was a size 22-24 throughout my pregnancy (and still am, actually).

Practical stuff:
I didn't go up a dress size in pregnancy, just started wearing elasticated waists for comfort. I didn't get a bump until towards the end. I was very active anyway, so I wasn't overly concerned about DVT but had my DH massage my calves for me every night to help blood flow. After I gave birth I weighed less than I did before I was pregnant.
I was consultant-led, though I would have been regardless as I have unrelated health issues. This means no midwife-led unit, and no water birth, but it's up to you if that's a problem (I ended up labouring in a pool thanks to a renegade midwife ). They'll want you to wear stockings during labour.

Emotional stuff:
Grow a thick skin. I saw two midwives, one of whom was lovely and supportive, but the other was just desperate for me to have some weight-related complication, which I never did. I'm sure she thought I'd faked my gestational diabetes test results

I was like you, very scared about the implications, but I had a normal pregnancy and a normal vaginal birth. With any luck you'll be perfectly fine, but do continue eating healthily and walk and swim regularly. Congratulations!

Congratulations! I hope the other responses have helped but I was the same, bmi 39 at booking in. Healthy eating was discussed but I joined slimming world so I didn't gain any more weight, I also had appointments with the consultant and anaesthetist (as a c section is more likely). Don't let your mum piss on your parade!

They will probably discuss risks with you etc. but they just need to make sure everything runs smoothly. With regard to dvts my blood clotting disorder means I clot easily, I was fine during my first pregnancy when I weighed 3 stone heavier but ended up with clots in my lungs this time! Don't think weight made a difference. I was very when they told me. I was pretty sure they'd say I was wasting their time and to go home as I thought because I'd lost weight this pregnancy would run smooth. I'm sure everything will go fine for you. Congrats too. And just ignore your mum and enjoy your pregnancy.

I had my DD in 2008 and was a larger dress size than you then. I was so sick through the whole pregnancy that I actually was 10kg lighter when I gave birth than when I got pregnant.

I had extra scans under consultant care, but that was great as I got to see the baby more often.

They worried about gestational diabetes, large baby and all sorts , but DD was 6lb 15oz when she was born, so not large at all.

The only thing I did have was SPD which was agonizing, but thin people get that too.... although obviously being overweight there is more stress on your joints though.

I wasn't allowed a water birth, I wasn't allowed a CS. I did have an epidural despite them saying it would be difficult to have one due to my size. It did make the scans harder as there are more layers of fat to see through and I couldn't have a 3D scan.

Just stay as active as you can and enjoy your pregnancy

I was (still am) obese when I was pregnant with ds and was under consultant. It all went smoothly except I was (obviously) measuring large for dates, so they induced me on his due date. No gestational diabetes or anything. The induction failed though and my blood pressure went a bit squiffy (not massively) so I ended up having a scheduled c-section. He was a healthy happy 10lbs. I think I'd rather get to a more healthy weight before trying for another as I did feel like an unsafe environment for my child - I think the healthcare workers treated me a bit like I had been irresponsible or selfish for getting pregnant whilst so overweight.

Congratulations! Enjoy your pregnancy!
I just wanted to add that there will always be something to worry about, obsess over and feel guilty about so try not to let yourself.
All you can do is your best from this point forwards and it sounds like you have a good plan for improving your health during your pregnancy.
My Mum is also funny about weight (she's pretty judgemental all round) so I avoid conversations I don't want to have.
I'm sure you will be a lovely, empathetic mother and that counts for a lot more than being a size 8.