Pregnant with BMI of 31.7. Advice needed.

[MacabreCasserole]

I've recently found out that I'm pregnant. Unplanned and very unexpected. These last few years I've let myself go and developed bad eating habits and gained a fair bit of weight. I didn't realise how much I actually weighed until I checked this morning and I'm 13 stone 4lbs at 5 ft 4. This puts me in the obese category which I'm mortified about.
What should I expect going forward?
Is it possible to safely lose weight during pregnancy ?

I have my first midwife appointment by phone next week so will obviously talk to the midwife about it then but I just wondered if anyone has any advice as I'm so upset with myself currently for letting myself get so unhealthy.

@MacabreCasserole
Congratulations on your pregnancy.
Try not to worry about your weight. The main thing now is to eat healthily & gently & regularly exercise during your pregnancy.

I think with your doctors approval you can join a slimming group if they work for you. Even if you don't lose weight you can avoid gaining too much weight. See what your midwife says.

They won’t worry unless it’s over 35 - even then they’re not really worried. And yes you can safely lose weight when pregnant. Don’t panic!

Hi
That's my BMI. I struggle with my weight and have hormone imbalance.
It is not advisable to lose weight in pregnancy. I just only put a stone on as I was already big.
Be prepared for lots of scans and monitoring to keep an eye on baby's size.
They said DD would be very big and I was not allowed birthing pool etc but she was normal size and very healthy!
Congratulations 🎉

Congratulations on your pregnancy! You can safely lose weight during pregnancy but you really should do this under the advice of your midwife/doctor, no crazy diets or exercise regimes.
Please try not to worry or feel bad about this, just look after yourself and be kind to yourself too.
I love your username btw, made me smile!

My weight and height was same as yours fir my first pregnancy I was still classed as low risk and only additional thing I had was a gestational diabetes test which was negative. Don't worry and enjoy your pregnancy:)

Must vary by trust as I had no extra monitoring or scans with that bmi, just usual 12 and 20. Only extra thing I had was a gestational diabetes test.

Hi, I was in a similar position when I got pregnant. I think my BMI was 29, so not quite obese but almost!

I wouldn’t expect much comment on your weight. It isn’t very obese. I do see an obstetrician every four weeks for an underlying health condition and they have never commented on my weight.

I found that the ultrasounds were not as clear in this pregnancy as my last when I was thinner. And there is a comment on each scan. Something like poor view due to’maternal body habitus ’. Which my DH thinks is quite funny and now complements my body habitus 😂

Im not sure they will recommend trying to lose weight in pregnancy, just try to eat healthy.

Congratulations btw!

Thank you for the replies everyone.
I plan to eat healthily from here on out as this has given me the kick up the backside I needed to see that my lifestyle has gotten unhealthy!
Gentle exercise like walking should be OK, right?
I won't be doing any crazy dieting or anything but is sticking to the recommended 2000 calories a day for women safe? I reckon I must be eating well over that now with little exercise.

Exercise doesn’t need to be particularly gentle. Of course walking is fine. Calories are normal for first trimester I believe and go up to 200 more a day - but check as I can’t remember exactly

Congratulations!
I agree, please don’t worry about your weight. Light, regular exercise and eating a healthy, balanced diet. Lots of water and of course your vitamins!

All the best x

BMI of 31 is classified as obese but as mentioned by a previous poster, midwives generally are not overly concerned unless it's over 35. Try not to worry too much! If you eat healthily and keep yourself moving (as long as it feels good for you) you might not gain much weight during the pregnancy. Everyone is different.

Focus on health for now and you can try to lose weight after the baby is here. Pregnancy is hard enough without the extra stress of trying to slim down. Congrats and all the best with your pregnancy!

The only “extra” I was offered for my BMI was the glucose tolerance test - you can of course turn that down. I am midwife led and was with my first, never had any sugar/protein/blood pressure issues, had a good first birth, planning home birth this time around. Both times my BMI was between 30-34 - try not to put loads on, with my first I felt sick unless I ate, so put weight on quick, second time around I felt sick in the evenings so generally skipped dinner so didn’t put any weight on until 20ish weeks. Keep active, swimming, walking, cycling etc.

This is my second pregnancy where my BMI is high and like last time I get the extra scans and my pregnancy will be consultant led. I actually weigh less than my last pregnancy and was hoping I'd get away without the extra stuff this time but they just want to make sure everything goes okay.
Had my 12 week scan today and everything is fine

Hi,

congratulations on your pregnancy.

my BMI is slightly higher than yours after just having a baby and being pregnant again. Midwives and doctors aren’t concerned at all.

had a GD test and it came back normal.

You can lose weight when being pregnant with the guidance of your midwife. They can refer you to a dietitian.

good luck and try not to worry x

Congratulations. If you eat a sensible, healthy diet and do some gentle exercise (walking, swimming), you may find you'll lose a bit of weight without trying anyway.

At the start of my pregnancy my BMI was a whopping 39! It would have been higher had I not lost a couple of stone while preparing to TTC. Honestly it hasn't been a problem.

I had a gestational diabetes test which was negative and blood pressure has been normal throughout.

I did ask my midwife if I could safely lose weight and she said that if a by-product of eating a healthier diet is weight loss, that's fine as long as it's consistent and not extreme - no fad diets but a healthy balanced diet would be fine.

I've been consultant led due to raised BMI however I haven't actually seen a consultant yet (I'm 31 weeks) and won't until I'm 37 weeks as there have been no concerns.

My BMI is similar to yours, the midwife told me not to worry at all (there is a page of stuff about it in your pregnancy notes but she said we would go through it once in the appt and then never talk about it again).

Speak to your midwife in your first appointment, til then try not to worry. In Pregnancy they don't consider you overweight even until BMI 30 and you're only a little over that.

There's a lot of scary info about not being able to scan the baby as effectively but you'll be fine. They could see my little one very clearly. They just press a little harder, that's all.

I also wondered if I should try to lose weight but the NHS advice is more focused on trying to gain less overall during pregnancy rather than actually shedding any weight.

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Don't worry about this at all :)

Thanks so much for all your replies. I feel much more reassured now! I'm definitely going to focus on eating a healthy balanced diet and regular exercise and get back into good habits as I'm sure that'll make me feel better in the long run too. Thanks everyone.

You have a similar BMI to me, currently 35 weeks pregnant. As with others, only extra test has been gestational diabetes. I was weighed at booking in and then at my 36 week appt yesterday. I have actually lost a few pounds in pregnancy but it hasn’t been intentional, as others have said just try to focus on being healthy rather than weight (I have a feeling my weight loss is less to do with being healthy and more to do with how often I’ve been sick, I’d much rather have out on a bit of weight but know I’m giving baby lots of nutritious food!) Congratulations on your pregnancy!

Mine was 33.
The only additional test I had was gestational diabetes. I was low risk despite being over 35 and no physical issues during pregnancy.

I did not put on a lot of weight, but that was due to pregnancy sickness rather than healthy eating! But this did help how I felt, therefore if I got pregnant again I would try and limit the weight gain as my BMI is currently higher.