Eat More Fat?!

[AiRoo]

Hi all,

hope everyone is well.

2 weeks ago I went for a scan for lack of movement, I had a very, well horrible sonographer who made me feel less of a human, woman, mother, because my BMI doesn’t fall in to the most inaccurate science tick box of “healthy”.

she randomly asked “what’s your diet like” mid scan. I said “very good thank you, and yours?”

she followed it up with “your deepest pool of amniotic fluid is 0.6cm higher than normal, you probably have gestational diabetes”

i could discuss the ins and outs of the rest of the scan but I’m letting PALS deal with that.

I had my GD test last week - I do not have diabetes, gestational or otherwise.

so I had a repeat scan today for the fluid which is now only 0.4cm over “normal” sitting at 8.4cm. However, I was told that baby girls weight had fallen to the 12 centile to where it should be at 26 weeks.

The midwife told me to “eat more fat” not like pizza and McDonalds, but like avocados, full fat yoghurt etc. has anyone done this and has it helped?

I eat a lot of fruit, veg, salad and pasta with a protein source but I guess I don’t eat fat other than from cheese.

you can’t win can you, two weeks ago I was a fatty, diagnosed with GD from a fluid measurement and now I’m not eating enough fat 😂😂

In pregnancy there will always be someone there to judge what you are eating!

I spoke to a Dr on the maternity ward I was on for severe fatigue in my last pregnancy about how I was worried because I hadn't gained any weight between 29 and 36 weeks and now had lost weight due to pregnancy complications and her response was "have you ever had an eating disorder"

In my experience my diet hasn't impacted the weight of my babies. I had hyperemesis with my daughter and lived off tinned peaches. She was 55th percentile. I struggled to stay awake enough to eat with my son and he was 60th percentile. With my son I was advised by the midwife to eat calorie dense foods and whenever I was awake.

@Superscientist so have you though? Had an eating disorder?

i am joking of course, not that that’s a) a funny question or b) an appropriate one for ANYONE to ask.

honestly, what is wrong with people? I’m sorry you went through that, the HG and the fatigue. I’m very glad both your babies were healthy weights regardless. I’m typing this singing the “peaches song” by the presidents of the United States in my head. Don’t google it, it won’t leave!

thank you for your comment, I will take the calorie dense advice on board. At the end of the day what will be will be, I’m doing my best and keeping healthy the rest is up to nature!

Well it's sugar starch that effects insulin not fat which is why a low carb, high fat is recommended sometimes to diabetic patients.

Saying that. You aren't diabetic??!!

If you have a family history of diabetes or GD then it might be worth thinking about but otherwise as long as you are eating well.with a wide range of nutrients then what's the problem?

Was the stenographer a consultant of some sort of just putting their two cents in? I would bring it up with your GP/midwife for a second opinion just in case but otherwise not worry.

For context. I was tested TWICE for GD when pregnant with dd. No family history, no gd in previous preg. I was slightly overweight. The flag was that DD had a big head and tummy. That's it. She's 5 now and still has a big head and tummy.... She's fine despite being bathed in glucose unnecessarily..twice.

To be fair... she didn't call you fat. She asked about your diet which can affect a baby and gave her medical opinion. Another medical profession has also now discussed your diet.

I'd be thankful they are keeping an eye on your baby and openly discussing options with you.

@BudgetBuster to be fair I mentioned that I didn’t go in to the ins and outs, she may have not said that word directly, but there are several verbal ways to skin a cat if you know what I mean….

please don’t try and mitigate her horrendous treatment of me as you weren’t there.

my diet is fine, balanced. The midwife today simply said if you like you can add more healthy fats which will help the baby gain weight. I just wondered if anyone had done something similar!

Sure how are we to know if ot was horrendous treatment if you don't give a full story? I commented based on the info you provided.

Just for your awareness, gestational diabetes isn't something that only affects 'fat' people. And being as you say 'fat' doesn't mean you'll get it.
Implying that people who have it are 'fatties' is unkind and untrue.

@BudgetBuster i think that was inferred by the “she made me feel less of a human, woman, mother” etc and that I involved PALS.

I didn’t type out the story verbatim as that wasn’t the point of my post so who cares really?

I was actually making light of the fact I got judged by my weight two weeks ago and then told to eat more fat today- just forget it, this is futile and not what I was after from asking about adding fat to your diet.

That sonographer can go to hell. She has no reason at all to be commenting like that beyond 'view effected by patient BMI' on the scan report IF that was the case. I hope PALS does what is needed.

What is the scientific basis of what the sonography said? Good fats are essential, but not excessive amounts. If you are eating a balanced diet then you have no need to worry.

@JuniperandI thank you very much!! I left in tears, not what you expect when you see your baby

I’m confused. Are you upset because she said you were fat?

healthy fats (like avocado) are good for you. Also gestational diabetes is totally unrelated to weight.

Not when I was PG but when I was BFing and DC1 was hungry.

So definitely add in some fats, like oily fish, avocado, cold pressed olive oil (if you’ve won the lottery) eggs avd dark chocolate.

I think it’s worth a try at least.

@Icanttakethisanymore no, I’m not 5 being picked on in the playground. It’s not like she said “hi, I’m so and so, im doing your scan today fatty”

it wasn’t that simple…..

do you ever regret posting sometimes?!

@Icanttakethisanymore and that’s not entirely true because they only test people with a bmi over 30, those with pre existing conditions or some ethnic groups.

Oh lord…. This is not what I meant at all. I was being facetious about the fatty comment as in that’s how she greeted me.

They don’t test everyone, only people the NHS deem overweight…. You have completely missed my point, completely.

They test people over 40, people from some ethic backgrounds and people with a personal or family history of diabetes- not just people with a high BMI.

@NerrSnerr yes I know, I said that. And it’s not just “high” BMI it’s anything over 30

You literally said ‘they don’t test everyone, ONLY people the NHS deem as overweight’.

@NerrSnerr
see the photo…..

I had GD with no risk factors and a bmi of 22.

Your comments read as though you judge those with GD as fatties.

I assume you didn’t mean it to come across that way, and similarly maybe the sonographer also was just offering some helpful diet advice and you’ve misinterpreted the intent.

@Mushroo nope, not in the slightest….. my whole post has been taken out of context.

my wife had GD during her second pregnancy, I would never call her a fattie in a month of Sundays.

as for the first sonographer, she asked OUT OF THE BLUE what my diet is like and said “I’m guessing you have GD based on the measurement of your deepest pool” after me telling her my diet is fine. She judged me based on my appearance and her manager that I spoke to agreed.

for what it’s worth I gained weight due to 20 years on anti psychotic medication due the trauma of being kidnapped and assaulted by a taxi driver on my hendo…… she judged me on my diet when my BMI is higher due to no dietary reason.

AND lest we forget, I was ACTUALLY asking advice for helping my baby girl gain weight due to her decline to the 12th centile.

wow, you’re quickly reminded sometimes how actually horrible mumsnet can be. I GENUINELY wish I’d never bothered.

And they test based on the babies growth. So sometimes nothing to do with the mum.

Just focus on a balanced diet, and your baby will take what it needs.

And I forgot to add, I had loads of scans which was annoying. One week her centile was too high, one week it dropped and was too low. I was glad they monitored but I had to let go of worrying about it all the time and came to the conclusion she was having growth spurts and static periods, rather than linear growth. Healthy fats won't harm you though so go for it if it could help.

I think she made a medical remark based on the deepest pool of water. It's surely better that she picked up on it just in case it was gestational diabetes which more often than not has nothing to do with weight.