Plus Size/Obese and pregnant

[KsMumma]

Being big and pregnant comes with additional risks and issues both physically and mentally.

I thought I would start a thread where us bigger girls can talk openly about what we are going through and share advice and support.

What a nice idea for a thread. I've had two babies, but am not currently pregnant. My experience with the NHS was a lot of being told I was high risk and that I "wasn't allowed" to do certain things eg water birth. Unless I wanted to fight my way to one that was...

In reality I had pretty uneventful pregnancies and both my babies came flying out with no dramas.

Good luck with with your pregnancy

Hi,

I’m currently 10weeks pregnant with my 2nd (my eldest is 4) and this pregnancy is already different to my last - in a large part (no pun intended) due to my size, I’m a size 22/24.

I thought it would be good to have people to talk to whose pregnancy experiences may me more similar

Thank you, I’ve started noticing that already and am only 10 weeks!

I spent quite a bit of time worrying about being classed as obese and not being able to get the birth I want etc. When I went to my booking appointment with the midwife a few weeks ago she told me a BMI of under 35 is not deemed high risk by them (mine is 34). I was so, so relieved and only wish I'd known this from the start.

I'm having a really good pregnancy, 11 weeks and feeling really well. Very grateful.

I am struggling a bit with finding maternity clothes, I'm normally an 18 but I've tried a few maternity bits in an 18 and they don't always fit. A lot of brands stop at an 18 too. Any suggestions appreciated.

I ordered bits from Frugi, New Look and Next. New Look dresses were all cheap looking but one longline grey jumper was nice. Got a nice sage green fleece from Mountain Warehouse maternity for winter (from Next). I have a couple of pairs of over the bump jeggings coming from M&S. I've also bought a few things from Vinted but it's hard to know what will fit!

Hi @MrsScotland , that’s great news! Glad it’s going well for you.

Same - struggling to get maternity wear, I’ve picked up a couple of bits from Vinted with varying success!

In my last pregnancy I was 16/18 and I found George (Asda) really good.

Hi! Thought I would check in 😊 I'm currently 23 weeks with my first baby and my BMI is 39. So far all my appointments have been really lovely and I worried endlessly about them!
I have found that the heavyweight midwife group on Facebook (she's also on all the other socials) has been amazing for myself and she is a midwife who advocates for us bigger girls and really helps ease anxiety about how it's a consideration not a risk!

I was a size 20 in pregnancy. Other than the missed periods I would never have known I was pregnant until I started showing which, being bigger anyway, wasn't until I was about 6 months. Several people who later saw me with the baby exclaimed that they hadn't realised I was pregnant at all!

I had no sickness and no mobility issues (unlike my very slim SIL who was in a wheelchair by the end of both her pregnancies). I did get gestational diabetes but my numbers were always very borderline, baby always measured on 50th centile and I had no sugar in urine etc.

My waters did break when I was 36 weeks but I had a terrible cough for a couple of days beforehand (it was just going around) and I'm not sure if all the coughing ruptured something?! Baby was born by what the midwives termed 'a textbook delivery' in that I only needed gas and air and baby was perfectly healthy.

I did have problems breastfeeding as I never produced much milk but I'm not sure if me being slimmer would have helped with that.

@FirstT1meMum that’s reassuring, I’ve only had my booking in so far & the midwife was lovely but have been put on consultant pathway so a little nervous about how that goes. My last pregnancy I was lighter than I am now and some of the comments I had from midwives and sonographers have really stuck with me! Thanks for the heavyweight midwife recommendation- I’ll check that out!

@AmyandPhilipfan that all sounds really reassuring- thank you for sharing

Currently 19 weeks- BMI of 40

Had two losses this year so this is my double rainbow baby. No sickness or nausea but lots of aches and pains.

After some research I think I want to request a C-Section. Has anyone got any suggestions on the best way to go about this? I am consultant led but haven't had an appointment with my consultant yet

Maternity clothes in XXL at H&M fit really well on me, I was an 18/20 (BM1 32) pre-pregnancy.

I was a similar size to you during my pregnancy. I was put on the consultant pathway. I had two comments about my weight really. I had the sonographer who said she couldn’t see anything through my fat (I’d had a scan two weeks earlier who’d managed). Then when I met with the consultant she told me obese women can’t stand the pain the same as skin women and that they would struggle to put an epidural in because of the fat at my back so I had to ask for a consultant.

I got gestational diabetes but was well managed, although I did need medicating. Due to the medication they were pushing for a 38-39 week induction and I accepted one at 38 weeks (I was anxious and wanted baby here). Induction was great. Contractions started with the pessary and baby was born less than 12 hours after first contraction. No issues with delivery and had just had and air, although they did tell me a lot I wasn’t coping (before the gas and air). I had some trouble breastfeeding. I had a good supply, well until a hospital stay tanked it, but all the positions that midwives know are for slimmer women with smaller breasts. I had one lovely nursery nurse who went off and googled some positions for larger chested women but the rest kept showing me the same positions.

@missgoddess from my experience they were pushing me towards a c-section due to the higher risks associated with obsess women. You might not find that there is much of a fight from consultants. I think there was more of an air of irritation when it was suggested having a vaginal birth or wanting to go midwife led/water birth.

Oh for maternity clothes, new look have some good ones as does Yours. I found that just going up a size in loose tops worked and they worked afterwards too.

Thanks @PurpleBananaSmoothie that is good to hear
I think if it was just my BMI it would be different but it is also my first and I am older and I feel it is probably right for me

You may find Dr Sara Wickham's book 'Plus Size Pregnancy' useful. She is a huge advocate for women and debunks a lot of the myths about plus size Pregnancy and labour. Congratulations!

Hi! I’m 26wks pregnant with my first, BMI in the 40s. Tbh, I’ve not had many bad comments from drs or midwives about my size yet but one consultant did go in about my weight possibly delaying IV access but I don’t think many people make it through induction/labour without as much as a cannula so if they couldn’t get one in I’d be very surprised🤣

Congratulations to all you ladies currently expecting 😊

My DS is almost 3 but I just wanted to hopefully give some reassurance with my experience. I was Size 20 with BMI 39 at the start of my pregnancy and had no issues at all related to my size. I was put on the “high risk” pathway so was consultant led but was advised that I’d only ever have to see a consultant if I developed any health issues during the pregnancy. My blood pressure and blood glucose were fine throughout so never met a consultant.

I did meet one bitch of a midwife who checked my BP 3 times as my BP couldn’t possibly have been lower than hers 🙄 but that was the only issue I had!

The only restriction that I was given was that I had to deliver on labour ward rather than in the midwife led unit or at home. I was fine with that as it’s where I would have chosen anyway.
I was also given extra growth scans at 36 and 38 weeks which showed baby was bigger. Scan measured him being 10lbs at just over 38 weeks 😳 induction was advised so ended up being induced at 39+5. Baby was born weighing 8lb 11oz.
No complications, both perfectly healthy, home within 8 hours of delivery. Vaginal birth with gas and air.

Maternity clothes wise - Love Legging Maternity Leggings are the elite 😅 I lived in them from about 20 weeks (and still wear them 3 years later 😅). I got a few maternity tops from Yours & H&M. Also got a few dresses from Simply Be.

My BMI at booking the first time was 41. Had an uneventful pregnancy until I developed gestational diabetes and then got preeclampsia at 30 weeks when I nearly delivered. Things calmed down and I almost made it to 37 but went downhill fast and I ended up with HELLP syndrome and an emergency c section. How much of that was due to my weight I don’t know as those with much lower BMIs can be exactly the same.

I’m currently 28 weeks pregnant with number 2. Was 36 BMI wise at this booking appointment as I’d done well to lose some
weight after my first and I unexpectedly fell pregnant 4 months postpartum after a previously long battle with infertility. So far everything has been ok only had one incident of high blood pressure a few weeks ago but no signs of anything from my bloods or since. I’m very aware I’m entering the period I had my issues last time. I don’t know if I’ll have the same problems as before or not yet it’s too early to know but I’m avoiding taking on or doing that much to not get so stressed out like I did last time. My consultant now sees me every week and I get a separate blood pressure check later in the week as well. I also check myself at home on a daily basis with a machine they calibrated with me.

Asides that I’ve been very fortunate to not suffer with much sickness or other issues. I still look overweight rather than pregnant as baby seems to go up and into my back rather than put the front same as last time when unless I told people they had no idea I was pregnant until we announced the birth 😂

Hi everyone, and congratulations for your little ones 😊

I don't know if this thread is still active, but I recently found out I'm pregnant (6 weeks) and I have a BMI of 39. I'd been loosing weight, but had found myself in a plateau, and now that I'm pregnant I worry because I don't know if I should persist in my weight loss or if I should just "pause it". I'm afraid that loosing weight will mean baby's not well nourished; but on the same time, I'm obviously afraid of obesity harming my child or myself.

Anyway, I saw this thread and hoped for wisdom and encouragement 😅

@MsNeis it isn't advised to lose a lot of weight while pregnant if it means a restricted nutrition diet, but if you just maintain/lose with healthy foods/or you lose weight inadvertantly because of morning sickness etc, its fine. The baby will always take everything it needs from your body anyway, so it's more eating to make sure your energy levels are up. If you do need to lose weight, ask the midwife who can refer you to the hospital dietician who can help with a balanced diet plan and exercise.

As PP said, Dr Sara Wickham is a big advocate for plus size, and mothers shouldn't feel bad because of obesity, as obese women can have healthy happy babies just the same! And a lot of the risks associated with being obese can also happen to slim women e.g GD etc.

For those on extra scans, at what weeks did they do the growth scans? Also was the criteria for high risk having a high bmi or do they need other criteria?

I started growth scans at 30 weeks and have them booked in every three weeks. For me it is down to BMI (42 at booking in) as they wouldn't get an accurate measurement on measuring my tummy at community midwife appointments. Which is probably true because baby is showing in the 96th percentile yet I don't feel much bigger than normal.

Do you know you need to take folic acid 5mg if BMI is over 30 when pregnant? So ask GP to prescribe this if you all arnt allready taking.

@missgoddess
I had a section at BMI 35 for a breach baby, I asked the Consultant if there were any extra risks because on my BMI - she said only an increased risk of infection. I has no issues with infection and all went to plan.

when I had MC surgery under GA I asked the surgeon if there was an increased risks of GA because of my BMI - was told no it’s a stright forward surgery and I’m not expecting any problems.

therefor I no longer worry about me weight and just try to be as healthy as possible.

@LittleMrsPretty About the folic acid issue: in my first pregnancy, I was prescribed the normal dosage (I had a lower BMI then, tho still classed as obese). I only learned about the need for a higher dosage when I was TTC and reading about pregnancy and obesity. No doctor told me... This time, I'm taking the higher dosage on my own (I'm still 6 weeks and have not had a visitation yet), but my intention is to ask the doctor for information, because it's strange that I never heard of it before! And now I see it's vox populi!

In my first pregnancy I was fuming that my MW only mentioned this at 9 weeks, nowhere on tje NHS website does it mention this - which is why Ive ahared.

I’m TTC no2 and asked my GP to prescribe and I have to explain why everytime, to be told I can buy OTC but I can’t as 5mg is POM only.

@LittleMrsPretty Probably it's one of those issues where there are different professional opinions and, depending on the doctor or midwife, you'll be told or not... ?