Overweight & Pregnant

[fr4zzledmum]

Bit of background:

I have a DD (4) and ever since her birth, have been a staunch one and done woman (definitely undiagnosed PND to blame). The past six months I've been more open with DH and we're finally going to try for another baby.

We've agreed that 'the time is now' and that we'd like a baby by the end of next year (after this time, we'll likely remain a one child family).

I'm considerably larger than I was when I had my DD (5 stone heavier - BMI 38.2) and although with us now TTC I'm changing my eating habits etc., realistically I'm not going to lose the amount of weight I 'need' to, to be a less overweight pregnant mother.

I'd just like to hear from people who have been a similar BMI to me and see how their pregnancy was, and also if they had a massive baby? Particularly interested ti hear about differences between pregnancies if you gained weight like me.

I had a 'happy accident' pregnancy, my BMI was 37 at my booking appointment. I really beat myself up about it but actually everything was fine. I had extra scans because of my BMI but every time the baby was spot on the 50th centile. He was a week overdue so was a bit bigger but only because of that.

I had to be under consultant care, what this meant in practice was having a phone conversation with a consultant who said I was fine to carry on under the midwife. I really wanted to give birth on the midwife led unit rather than the main hospital and made sure that was signed off and was on my notes every time. It all worked out as I wanted!

I also had to have the gestational diabetes testing but all was absolutely fine. Ditto blood pressure.

In terms of weight, I craved fresh food during the first trimester and actually lost a bit of weight. I tried to be sensible throughout and I didn't put on much. I actually ended up putting on more when I was breastfeeding.

I was really embarrassed at being at risk due to weight but the NHS paperwork and procedures are quite blunt and the actual midwives that I saw were lovely and never made it an issue.

Also should have said, this baby was a third and my BMI wasn't high for the first two. Actually had no difference at all apart from being a bit more tied (I put this down to age!).

Working on weight loss is hard to prioritise with a toddler and postnatal depression so don't be hard on yourself, great news that you're looking to prioritise your health now.
Best of luck with your TTC and hopefully a happy side effect will be feeling healthier to if you're taking closer care of yourself!
My top foodie tip is zero fat high protein yoghurt (Fage is the brand I get) with a teaspoon of stevia sweetener and some frozen berries in, much more filling than cereal and half the sugar!

Don’t beat yourself up. I had a 2 year old when we TTC our DD. After him I was a bit over 2 stone heavier than I was before pregnancy and had PND so losing it wasn’t really on my mind.
When it got to the time we were in a better place to TTC, I then thought I would be losing it just to gain again so it would be better to do it carefully and work on losing it all after. Maybe not the best attitude but hey!

The only thing that might happen is you be prescribed a higher dose of folic acid. I just took the usual amount before pregnancy and whilst TTC until I saw someone.

I ended up having to have a GD test (didn’t need this the first time) which was fine and I just focussed on eating healthier to avoid a massive weight gain. Baby was born over by a week and 3 days at 7lbs 6, (exact same weight as my first who was born a week and 1 over). Typically we had an all over time after birth which is only just settling now so I really need to do something to get rid of my weight as I’ve got about 4 and a bit stone to lose!

Wishing you lots of health for TTC.

I've been obese prior to both my pregnancies. First one was BMI 36, and second was 38. I was anticipating my second to take a lot longer to conceive like my first. While I was actively losing weight, it wasn't much by the time I conceived. Then first trimester eating habits meant it was all put back on by the booking appointment

The pregnancies themselves were ok. I had the GTT with both which I passed with flying colours, and was advised to take aspirin with both due to pre-eclampsia risks. DC1 I had growth scans owing to a high PI reading (indicating resistance in the placenta/cord which could cause IUGR). DC2 I was knackered the entire pregnancy.

However, I developed pre-eclampsia in both pregnancies around 34 weeks. It was very mild, though, but still necessitated induction at 37 weeks. Both babies were excellently grown despite this. DC1 was 7lb5 at 37+1, while DC2 was 8lb1 at 37+6. So big babies, but wouldn't have been overwhelmingly so (~9lb) if they had gone to their due date.