Pregnancy with a high BMI

[Sallyjo27]

Hi ladies, I’m not currently pregnant. I’ve recently had a MMC and chemical pregnancy. My BMI is very high (was 40, now it’s around 37-38). I can’t help but blame my weight on my MMC and CP. does anyone have a high BMI and have had a healthy pregnancy? I’m just really struggling to lose weight at the moment and worried about getting pregnant again.

Hi OP!

BMI the day I found out I was pregnant was 37. I’m 5ft 3 and about 15 stone! I’m currently nearly 29 weeks and trying to get my boy to stop simultaneously kicking me in the bladder and the bowel 💕

I did have a MC last year but it was a blighted Ovum and I’m told they’re mostly due to chromosomal abnormalities than anything else!

Please please please don’t blame yourself or your weight! Yes a higher BMI can increase your chances of a MC but 1/4 women have MC and they are not all larger ladies! I know several women of normal/lower BMIs who have had MCs!

It’s usually just shit bad luck and one of life’s cruel jokes! Please don’t blame yourself! Just do what you can if you want to lose weight pre pregnancy but I actually didn’t as we conceived 2 months after my MC much to our surprise xx

@Mrsrose2018 that’s fab news, congratulations!!
Thank you for your kind words, I think lockdown is giving me time to over think. I’m so scared it will happen again as you know it’s such a horrible thing to go through x

I had a BMI of 34 when I got pregnant, currently at 26 weeks and so far everything has been absolutely fine!

I'm currently taking aspirin as advised by the midwives and was also taking the higher dose of folic acid up until around 12 weeks. Also had to go for the glucose tolerance test a couple of weeks back, but everything came back fine.

I'm consultant shared care due to the higher BMI but haven't really noticed a whole lot of difference appointments wise, as I think a lot of the extra appointments are ones you get when you're a first time mum anyway!

Good luck with your journey!

@purpleRain25 congratulations! Thank you for your reply. When did you start taking the aspirin if you don’t mind me asking? I’m still taking the 5mg of folic as advised by the nurse after my MC I was wondering if I should start taking aspirin too.

Oh yeh OP exactly what @PurpleRain25 said!

150mg aspirin taken every night and was told to do this from my booking app at 10 weeks. Also I take 10mg of vitamin D. And yeh also a prescription dose of folic acid! I was also to get additional growth scans and a gestational diabetes test!

Until my baby tried to make an unscheduled arrival at 25 weeks I had managed to talk my way into being midwife led care as opposed to consultant! It's entirely dependent on yours and baby's health! I wasn't gaining any/too much weight, was exercising as much as I could and watching what I ate (better late than never eh?) so they were happy with that!

You'd be surprised at how seriously not arsed they are about your weight OP!

@sallyjo27 thank you! If i remember correct i only started taking it around 14 weeks. The midwife at my booking appointment wasn't sure whether to tell me to take it and wanted me to speak to the consultant first (I think usually it's BMI of 35+ but mine was just a bit lower), and the consultant basically just said it would do no harm to start taking it. I have read about women taking it while TTC as well but I wouldn't just be totally clued up on it all!

Yes i forgot to mention the Vitamin D as well, as mentioned by @MrsRose2018 above!

Hi op,

My BMI was 38 when I fell pregnant, started taking 5mg folic acid straight away. All fine so far (now 22 weeks). Consultant has been v reassuring about everything, and is not worried about my weight at all.

Feel a bit more tired this time around (am a fair bit fatter!) but that may be because I enjoyed lots of naps last time. Have a nearly 3 year old whirlwind DD so no chance of that!

I’ve actually lost a little bit of weight as was v conscious of potential issues, and felt rough for the first few weeks.

Good luck with TTC.

My friend is morbidly obese. Literally as wide as she is tall and cannot walk properly. She had an unplanned pregnancy that went smoothly and a healthy baby girl (but born at 36 weeks by emcs).

Getting your bmi down can only be a good thing. But what happened is not your fault, and unfortunately would have happened no matter the number on the scale.

My BMI was high when I was pregnant, thankfully everything was fine, I was offered some sessions on healthy eating, but they were so condescending that I only opted for one. I did have a PPH following a traumatic delivery which they said was worse because I was overweight, but even that was okay to be honest, and that can happen to anyone. I did actually lose a bit of weight though, as I did lots of walking and didn't have much of an appetite for a lot of it.

You may even find you lose weight when you do get pregnant OP! I did until literally my 29th week!

You don't quite appreciate how much weight booze puts on and when I cut the Prosecco and the cocktails which were a weekly thing I won't lie it must have made a huge difference! Also I cut back on the weekly takeaways partly to try as hard as I could to turn over a new leaf and partly because you try to save the cash!

AND I had an upset stomach for the entirety of my first trimester!

Do what you can now, as every lb off does help but don't beat yourself up about it!

Firstly, sorry for your MMC and CP OP. Don't blame yourself, there would have been nothing you could have done differently to have changed the outcome.

Secondly, well done on the weight loss! Dropping 2-3 BMI points is amazing. Keep up the good work.

I had a BMI of 36 at booking. Had the GTT and was consultant led due to BMI. Ihad one appointment and was signed back to midwife led care. I did develop pre-eclampsia at 36 weeks (no symptoms save the BP and proteinuria, baby had zero growth issues), but otherwise I had had a normal pregnancy.

I was also on the higher dose folic acid + vitamin D, and was on 75mg aspirin from 12 weeks.

As a bonus, thanks I'm reasonably sure due to breastfeeding, I'm now a stone lighter than my booking weight!

Good luck with it all.

I was around the same as you when I fell pregnant and had a textbook healthy pregnancy, she’s now a healthy 8 month old!

It’s a pain taking aspirin and the diabetes test but apart from that never made any difference to me. I only gained 4 pounds my whole pregnancy and have now lost 3 stone since having her - still working on it though!

I have a high BMI 33 when I did my book in spot with midwife I was told to take 75mg of aspirin every night and I also have growth scans every 4 weeks from 28 weeks, try not to worry I'm sure it will all go well for you

I had a BMI of 44 when pregnant with DD. I actually lost weight in the first 30 weeks and ended up putting on 2kg (DD being 4.6kg).

In the end I had the healthiest and easiest pregnancy out of all my friends, however, I did have a hughly epic labour which was partly due to my weight and lack of birth choices. I ended up with an emergency c section, however, I recovered pretty well.

I was tested for GD and did not have it but the consultants kept insisting on testing me again and again as baby measured large but still did not have GD.

It can happen but until then it's a good plan getting the BMI down further to minimise any issues.

I had a BMI of 37 at my booking appointment, I'm currently 28 weeks and everything do far has been absolutely fine.

Thank you for the reassurance ladies! going to keep on trying to lose weight and hopefully get that BFP xx

BMI of 52 on booking - baby is now 7 weeks old in my arms and I’m 2 stone lighter than pre pregnancy :) I was dieting whilst TTC after a previous MC and CP.

I took 5mg of folic acid whilst TTC up until 13 weeks, and 150mg of aspirin from 8 weeks. Had extra growth scans from 24 weeks.

I was induced at 38 weeks due to a pre-existing neuromuscular condition, but no complications from my weight. Only downside was maternity clothes were harder to get and not as nice and my bump didn’t look like an obvious bump as early. I did make a really conscious effort to eat healthier which helped me to control my weight

Good luck ❤️

My BMI at booking was 41 i think - i was hoping to lose weight before getting pregnant but - given my weight - i expected it to take longer than it did to get pregnant. i was so nervous before my booking appointment about getting judged for my weight but all the maternity staff i have dealt with so far (liverpool women's) have been totally non-judgemental. They signposted me to mamafit and have provided advice on healthy eating/exercise etc but not been remotely patronising or made me feel bad.

i'm currently 28 weeks with twins (that was a fun surprise) and my blood pressure has been fine at all my appointments, my glucose test a few weeks ago came back fine, babies appear to be growing as expected at all my scans - everything so far has gone as smoothly as you could hope for really.

I was advised to take a higher dose of folic acid for the first 12 weeks, and also am taking 150mg aspirin daily as that is meant to help reduce pre-eclampsia risks. i am struggling a bit with SPD which can be worse in obese women - but equally many slimmer women suffer with it and many overweight women don't (and of course the twin thing could also be a contributing factor).

i am so sorry to hear of your MMC, that must be an awful thing to go through - but it can happen to anybodyand absolutely isn't your fault. higher BMI can, yes, make some things a higher risk, and of course it's no bad thing to try and reduce your BMI - but if you look at the absolute risk it's still very small. lots and lots of perfectly healthy babies are born to women of a high BMI all the time (and equally, women with a lower BMI suffer from those things).

wishing you the best of luck. :)

I’ve just found out I’m pregnant 5 weeks, with a BMI of 50+ I’m absolutely terrified I’ll lose the baby because of my weight, but it’s like everyone says.. it happens to “healthy” weight women too. Keep strong ❤️

I have a very high BMI and had a perfect pregnancy. Only got fed up when he went overdue.

I am pregnant again now and still high BMI. All fine so far but 10 yes older.

Can I ask why everyone is taking aspirin? What does that do. Midwife said nothing.

I have lost a bit of weight since being pregnant too! X

Due to covid19, I’m getting a phone call next week when I’ll be 6 weeks. Because of my BMI and covid am I likely to have a scan earlier than the current 12 weeks ? Thanks ladies 😃

Hi. No the BMI won't mean early scans. Not in Scotland anyway. My first nhs scan is at 13 weeks.

@Sheera1 I M on aspirin for BMI and because my mum had pre-eclampsia.
There is a risk checklist, and aspirin is recommended if you are a high risk for pre-eclampsia x

Ahh thank you. Makes sense.