BMI and birth/labour

[Sara1988]

My bmi at conception was 37. So far I've been very fortunate and have had a very healthy pregnancy. All tests coming back with great results and I can't say my bmi has caused any issues.

I am starting to cast an eye forward to birth and was hoping to give birth in midwife led centre but have heard high bmi can cause complications and need for interventions.

I wondered if anyone with a similar bmi could share their experience? Has anyone managed to have a birth with minimal intervention with a bmi 35+?

I was about the same i think when pregnant with DD and ended up with a hospital birth due to Gestational diabetes and needing to be induced.

Even with the induction it was still minimal intervention, I had the pessary inserted, was monitored for BP and had a belly band on for about half an hour then was left to just wander about, watch telly, snooze etc

24 hrs later they did a check and found they were able to break my waters, had to wait a while for someone to be free to do it, but once it was done had another half hour of monitoring then more wandering about till the contractions meant I wanted to stay close to the bed.

Some gas n air, then DD decided she was well and truly ready and she was out in a couple of pushes. All told it was 4 and a half hours between waters being broken and DD being put on my chest.

I would highly recommend Dr Sara Wickhams book Plus Size Pregnancy. Full of evidence based information.

@FlabMonsterIsDietingAgain I did read induction might be more likely but it sounds like you had a positive experience. Thank you for sharing!

@cfdaaeffssfg will check it out. Reviews are great.

Sara Wickham has written some super books on induction too which might also be worth a read? She has a brilliant website with loads of freely available content.

Ive not had this experience personally but just when we were talking about our birth plan I remember the midwife saying that you have to be under a certain weight for a water birth. I think it was 13/14 stone from memory but I'm sure your midwife will be able to tell you.

She said this is because the midwives need to be able to lift you out of the pool quickly if you were to pass out etc x

@Tryingtoconceivenumber2 13 stone must limit an awful lot if women. Anyone tall or mascular. Especially considering the added weight of pregnancy

My midwife has advised for the pool birth you just need the be a weight that means you can be lifted out by your partner and midwives. I wasn’t given a specific weight limit as that would be too limiting I think. My BMI is 30 so classed as high really and I’m allowed a pool birth provided my partner is on hand to help with getting me out if needed which obviously he will be.

My BMI was similar. did develop (permanent) diabetes during my pregnancy. But my labour was super fast and easy. She came a bit early (at 34 weeks), no idea why and waters broke early. once contractions started it was 4 hours til she was here. She was perfectly healthy and surprised everyone and no nicu time and stayed with me til we went home a couple of days later.

But i have a family history of super fast labours so that wasn't suprising

My BMI was about 37 in my first birth and 40 in my second. I used the midwife led unit both times and the pool was available to me both times also. Unfortunately my first birth led to transfer to theatre and forceps delivery, but this wasn't due to my BMI. Second birth I didn't have time to get in the pool because they flew out! 😂

Your BMI and weight is a metric that can be used to determine your risk of developing certain health conditions, but shouldn't be used as the only reason to determine the type of birth that is recommended to you. Remember, you do not have to accept their recommendations and it is your right to insist on using the midwife led unit if you want. It is your choice. I would advise discussing your birth plans early, and if they refuse use of the birth pool due to weight I would ask to speak to the lead midwife for a further discussion.

I should add, apart from raised BMI I have no other health conditions. I was prepared for an argument around birth choices due to what I had read, but actually everyone was very supportive.

Also, my weight is a fair bit higher than 13/14 stone and this was never discussed as an issue for birth choices.

General rules are that birth pools etc can be used if you have bmi less than 35. There are still ways to push for this and work around the rules so to speak.

I've had 3 children and hovered around BMI 35 during that time. I didn't use the pool so couldn't comment on that, but had 3 fairly straightforward labours with no interventions. I had a glucose test each time which was negative but other than that it was never really mentioned in terms of birthing options.

Thanks all. Really helpful. To be honest I've not been at the receiving end of any bad experiences due to bmi so far, but you read things online and prepare for the worst!