Getting pregnant whilst obese?

[juneybean]

I'm finding it hard to shift the weight but I'm desperate to have a baby.

Is it a bad idea to even consider getting pregnant whilst obese? :/ (18stone/5ft6)

juneybean

I too am TTC for no.2 and am clinically obese. I am 5 ft 5 and weigh 14st 11oz.

I did weigh a lot more.

November last year I was diagnosed with PCOS and I was therefore determined to lose weight as it helps the symptoms. PLUS....NHS won't give me any drugs to help me conceive while I have a BMI over 35!

I found swapping to a low GI diet....eating whole foods and just being healthy helped me shift some weight without much effort.

I then started exercising and combined the 2.
I have lost over 1.5 stone in total since November 07.

Moral of the story....maybe rather than a diet...just make sure that you are eating healthy. Cut down on too much processed foods and sugars. Up your wholgrain and fruit/veg intake. Also take smaller portions.

You will be amazed!

I know a lot of women who have had children while obese and have had normal pregnancies. How over there is more of a risk for us if we are very obese.

ALSO..just a bit of info...losing even as little as half a stone can improve fertility!

Good luck!!!!!

jenkeywoo

CAn I ask....how did you get perscribed Metformin for your PCOS if you are overweight?

I have PCOS, recently lost over 1.5 stone....fell pregnant naturally 3 weeks ago - miscarried.

My NHS hospital are refusing to give me anything until I get my BMI below 35!

OK, here we go - for CSWS.

Basic and very quick trek through some literature suggests that BMI >30 is related to anovulation and some increased risk of early miscarriage, possibly through hormonal changes (something to do with leptin?). So if obese and having trouble TTC, much of the research suggests try and loose weight. Couldn't find any stats for increased infertility risk as such, but there's a fair bit out there on the mechanics of why this might be so, and on weight / IVF / ISIC problems.

A Dutch study suggests that even in women with normal cycles (and partners with normal sperm counts) there is a relationship between BMI >30 and taking longer to conceive:

(1)Study of 3000+ couples in the Netherlands showed that, compared to women with a BMI between 21 and 29 (normal weight or overweight), women with a BMI of 35 had a 26% lower chance of pregnancy, women with a BMI of 40 had a 43% lower chance. For every BMI unit over 29, there is a drop of 4% in the chance of conception.

BUT an American study suggests this is only a problem if women ALSO smoke:

(2) American study found a strong association of BMI over 30 and increased time to achieve pregnancy ONLY in smokers (who were more than 10* as likely as non obese women to take more than 9 months to get pg).

So not cut and dried. The research suggests a risk of finding it harder to get pg if BMI>30, but actual figures are few and far between. Also read something that essentially said age is more of a factor than weight.

More clear cut is the relationship with problems in pregnancy, but risks are usually presented as odds ratios, not absolute risks, so I don't want to start brandishing numbers around without the time to go through the lit properly.

Thanks CK. That is interesting reading, but doesn't convince me that weight is a factor in conceiving where cycles are still regular and the woman is a non-smoker (I'm assuming that the Dutch study didn't collect data on smoking).

It is always a subject of interest to me, as it took us several years to conceive the first time, although I was much much lighter when we began trying, and obviously younger! I will have to continue to put that down to dh being out of the country most of the time, and the fact that we weren't very successful in giving up smoking long term (would manage a few months each year, then lapse!).

Sadly my risk of gestational diabetes is high anyway, due to family history, but I was lucky and escaped it when pg with dd. Passed out and threw up through my first gtt this time, so having it redone this week. Fingers crossed!

Am fully distracted by this now. Just found a BMJ paper suggesting it's waist-hip ratio, more than BMI, which predicts trouble conceiving. Could explain to me why, as a person with BMI in 'normal' range but no waist to speak of (purest 'apple') I have been TTC for 11 months now with no success

Sadly my Athens authentication won't let me get to the full text of the dutch study - only have abstract and reports on it. It says it controlled for 'possible related factors' but the couples in the study were 'subfertile'. So we still don't know what proportion of women with BMI > 30 will be subfertile, jsut that if you are already subfertile it's likely to be worse if you are bigger.

Best of luck with the GTT test, hope you don't either pass out or throw up this time!

Well I've been trying 7 months with no luck and my hips are huge. My waist is huge too but not as huge. My boobs are huger. I still think if all of these get smaller its all for the good, conceiving or not.

What sort of waist to hip ratio is considered not OK?

Waist hip ratios went from 0.85. And the women with 0.7 did best (highest proportion pg within 12 cycles of AI) and those with >0.85 did worst. And the ones in the middle did, in the middle kind of well. But (like lots of the research) it's about assisted conception.

Thanks for all your helpful replies :D My periods are like clockwork and I have no physical health problems amazingly (I do often wonder if one day I'm going to drop down dead!)

I think I will look at the Slimming World again, I managed to lose 7lbs in 10days for my 21st birthday with SW (and cutting down on my beloved Pepsi Max!)

I wish those TTC the best of luck also :D

juneybean

Same here. My periods have always been clockwork - so much in fact that my DH used to call me the day I should get my period to tell me I'd got my period!!!! And indeed I would have!

I am in good health - blood pressure good and no illness/allergies - NOTHING!

I conceived my 1st DS when I was 26 and my weight at the time was 13.5 stone. I conceived EASILY! On the 3rd cycle we were pregnant and the pregnancy went through hickup free. My blood pressure stayed normal throughout and I had a complication free birth. Didn't even use any drugs!

However, I gained a lot of weight after having DS and now I am just under 15stone. I was in fact 17.5 stone last year, but I have got my weight down.

Last year we tried TTC no.2 and this is when we found out I had PCOS. We have been trying for 14 months with no luck and so I was checked out.

The conclusion was that the excess weight I had gained had triggered the PCOS. I probably always had Polycycstic ovaries, but with my weight hitting the top of the scale meant my fertility dropped considerably.

Last month after all my weight loss - I did at last manage to fall pregnant but I lost it...

My only advice would be to start trying but if nothing happens after 12 months to make sure to go see your GP who will probably refer you to the fertility clinic at the hospital where they check you out properly.

GOOD LUCK!

I was too big and PCOS and didn't ovulate because of the combo. I busted a gut and got healthy to get pregnant and then I got pregnant 4 years earlier than planned while on the pill!

I'd say yes lose as much weight (down to a healthy weight) that you can. It will be worth it. Even if you can get pregnant, being over weight carries extra health risk for you and the little one. Baby can be born obese too. Plus with your new healthy diet you can give baby better nutrition and you fitter body will find pregnancy and labour much easier.

You can do it! You have the most amazing reason why to help motivate you too. It's not about becoming a size 6, just the best version of you. I never would have believed how much better I would feel healthier and fitter. Has to be felt to be believed. Slow and steady wins the race. Avoid fad diets and things you can't stick with. Wishing you the best of luck on your journey! Xxx

At the end of the day age is a bigger factor in infertility than BMI. So if you are 30+ i would suggest dieting whilst trying. But its whatever you feel if right for you.

I was overweight by about 3.5 stone before I got pregnant. Pcos and male factor infertility made it v likely we would need IVF. The clinic (private) said they would have treated me but the doc was v v honest with me and suggested that my chances of getting pg and having a healthier and easier pregnancy would increase if I lost the weight first. She was v direct but kind with me. It wasn't what I wanted to hear - we were desperate to start. However, I took the advice and went away for about 7 months, lost all the extra weight and concentrated on getting myself fit. Am now 35 + 3 and glad I did it this way round. I still feel fit and heathly and have carried on exercising.