Midwife told me BMI over 30 at 36 weeks?!

[FluffyBear82]

Hi, I'm so annoyed about this. Midwife weighed me last week at my 36 wk appt. and told me I was ever so slightly over 30 BMI, she put it on my hospital notes so that I now have 2 risk factors (the other being I'm 40) and told me I might need blood thinner injections after birth!! Let's put this into perspective - I wear a size 12 in clothes and gained 1st 10lbs overall. I've been wearing the same clothes since 1st trimester. Why isn't she taking into account baby weight gain?! As soon as I give birth my BMI will go right down so I'm curious she is basically saying my weight is a risk and I'm obese!!!!! Just to say she is a lovely midwife and certainly wasn't rude or mean about it, just factual but I think she's completely wrong!! Anyone else experience this?? Am I right in thinking she is wrong??

I think you need to not view this as a personal slight and see it as a medical fact.

At the moment your body (with a baby) is under extra pressure because your weight now tips into the obese bracket and may require different medical processes to keep you both safe compared to if you were in the healthy weight category.

She has to record it. It’s a fact. Not a character assault.

I feel sorry for HCPs constantly having to tiptoe around people’s feelings about weight when it’s just one bloody metric like your blood pressure or your age.

I had a BMI of 39 at 37 weeks (which wasn’t just baby- but a lot of toast and chocolate) and I had the midwife frantically telling me that I ‘looked beautiful!’, ‘wasn’t heavy at all!’ and ‘99kg isn’t that bad!!!’ 🤡

Excuse me but it has nothing to do with being tiptoed around because I'm sensitive!! I am questioned if she has worked it out correctly as don't want medication I don't need!! I'm a size 12, so I'm not obese, she isn't taking into account the baby weight that is what I am saying! To work out BMI in 3rd trimester surely you should be deducting expected baby weight or something? Really jo need to be so rude!

If they prescribe blood thinners it’s to keep you and your baby safe. I was on them from bfp to delivery with DD then again for two weeks as I had a CS. You get used to them.

I was never weighed after my booking appointment, I don’t think it’s usual?

are they not supposed to use your weight at beginning as indication of risk factors? I don’t think it’s standard practice and would query it. I wasn’t weighed after booking for either for my pregnancies

Bonkers. That's not your BMI, that's the BMI of you and an almost full term baby.

Listen to the medical professional, as you are 40 you are at higher risk of complications. As much as the NHS is on its knees because of successive Governments policies I wonder how many staff leave because people give them attitude. I know you didn’t but I wonder how many do. My mate had pre diabetes and was sent on a course, she was morbidly obese but was having any of it.

Exactly! Thank you that's what I thought! My sister is a pediatric nurse and even she thinks it's ridiculous. She wasn't weighed after booking in all 3 of her pregnancies. I get all trusts are different but if you going to calculate BMI in 3rd trimester then you surely need to deduct expected baby weight!! I have a sweep next week so will query it then.

She isn’t the one that’ll be doing any prescribing. The people who would be prescribing will be able to look at all the info and make a sensible plan.

I was weighed at booking in and then politely declined it from then on and nobody had any issues.

I understand what you're saying, and I agree. Of course you've put weight on, you're 30 odd weeks pregnant.

My BMI was recorded at booking and then that’s it. I was weighed later on but only to track how much weight I’d gained versus my initial weight, no recalculation of BMI

I’m obese at a size 12 and 5’3. I was overweight and could fit into size eight clothes and I knew I was carrying too much weight.

@BBBBMushroom I didn't have an attitude with the midwife thank you very much, she is lovely and I would never do that! Secondly I'm not in denial, I wear a size 12 clothes!! Can even still fit into some of my size 10 tops but they don't cover my bump. Do you understand what BMI is?? If it's including a full term baby then it isn't a BMI is it

It must vary in areas. I was weighed at booking, at 20 weeks, 28 weeks and 34 weeks. There's no reason for them to weigh me as my bmi was 22 at booking.

I agree they shouldn't be working out your bmi with the baby, on the whole you're not carrying extra fat. Apparently 10-12kg is normal weight gain throughout pregnancy and you're within that.

Why were they weighing you at all? That's not standard practice AFAIK.

But agree- they can't reasonably calculate BMI without taking into account the baby weight and they don't know how much the baby weighs anyway.

Being a size 12 is irrelevant if your BMI is over 30.

You'd be right to ask more questions at your next appointment though.

Sounds bonkers to me too. I would definitely have been over that BMI at full term.
Is this your first baby?
I only say because I had my 5th after the age of 40 and the amount of protocol I had to refuse was crazy. And even then some interventions were done without my consent. Obviously if this is your first you should be a bit more cautious.

My BMI is over 30 because I am carrying a full term baby! I don't understand why people are disregarding this?! My weight gain throughout pregnancy is within the correct range! This is me, I'm not skinny but I'm perfectly healthy and don't believe I need medication because of my 3rd trimester BMI ...this is bonkers!

And my boobs have gone up 3 sizes which is half my weight!! 🤣🤣

being a size 12 is irrelevant if your BMI is over 30

Except, she hasn't go a BMI over 30 and the point clearly is that she has gone up no more than 1 dress size overall, with a distinct bump. I have little doubt that the OP is well within healthy weight range, as another PP said in terms of starting point and kgs added. And the midwife has clearly completely misunderstood what BMI is, and therefore there is a question mark over what else she might be misunderstanding. For me that would be a serious concern regarding my overall care.

For peace of mind I think the OP needs to speak to another midwife or her GP with regard to whether she really has some of the risk factors mentioned. I doubt it but what can happen is that a midwife can make an error, and conflate 2 things in a confusing way, and then both things get ignored when one of them was right.

This is by no means the first report this year of this happening with a midwife, and one can only wonder what else these specific midwives are getting wrong. I met some (just a few!) nurses who didn't seem to have a grip of the basics either when a relative with multiple conditions had an admission for a new serious condition recently, and who didn't like to be told either (however politely). Too many serious medical errors waiting to happen...

OP I can't believe some people on this thread think your midwife is right!!! She's clearly got confused, you don't re-calculate BMI when someone is heavily pregnant - they can use your weight at booking in to calculate that. I would decline blood thinners on this rational it's totally crazy, your weight is not putting you at additional risk.

Those who think the midwife is right, if the baby had been born early (mine was two weeks old by the point when I would have been 36 weeks pregnant), do they think to calculate the OP's bmi the OP should be weighed holding the baby or not holding the baby?

@Greybeardy thank you that's a good point!

@Hopefulbride18 thank you! Feel like I'm going mad here trying to explain myself! Lol and yes your right it's easy to forget that we can refuse treatment we don't want!

Yes this is my first pregnancy and admit I have just been going along with everything that's said to be by the medical professionals up until now! I have a lot of respect for medical staff as all my family apart from me work in that sector, but that doesn't mean mistakes aren't made

In my area they give blood thinners if you're over 35 years old, regardless of anything else. And of course after a c-section too. They're annoying to do but not a huge issue.

Ask at your next appointment for more info but I'm sure she's just following guidelines - you can't be the first person this has happened to.