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Pregnancy

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Original poster

What would happen if you refused to be weighed at your booking in appointment

29 replies

JamieJay · 21/05/2009 21:08

This is only a theoretical question, hope that's okay and isn't wasting peoples time

Talking to a friend about tests etc. in pregnancy and a womans right to refuse these if she doesn't want them.

But, what would happen if a woman refused to be weighed at the booking in appointment, our LHB classes anyone over BMI30 as high risk, but if they can't weigh the woman how can they assess if she's over BMI30?

Would they automatically class her as high risk just in case or could you end up with someone they class as high risk having care applicable to some low risk?

Can you guess that I was bored and prone to over thinking today!!

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Laura233 · 21/05/2009 21:11

Hi,

Unfortunately I do not know the answer, but if this is the case in your situation would it not be better if they did know you were high risk so they could give you better support throughout the pregnancy.

I know I have a high BMI, and I am sure I will be classed as high risk, but if it means I get the help and support I need then isnt it worth them knowing that?

And I know what you mean, I am very much in the bored and prone to over thinking at the moment and it is driving me round the twist!

Laura x

scratchet · 21/05/2009 21:15

Hmmm not sure on that one. They can't make you get on the scales i suppose but from an anaesthetic and GTT point of view it is important. I added an inch to my height and "lost" 5kg

LessThenIdeal · 21/05/2009 21:22

I've never been weighed at a booking in appointment, and i'm on my 3rd pregnancy....

They asked how much i weighed and i gave them a guesstimate which they went along with.

ingles2 · 21/05/2009 21:26

I refused to be weighed at my first booking I seem to recall.
Nobody seemed bothered and they didn't insist, but I definitely wasn't overweight then..

slushy06 · 21/05/2009 21:30

I wasn't weighed she looked at me and said my bmi was fine so I guess they would take a rough estimate.

mrsboogie · 21/05/2009 21:30

They don't weigh you nowadays unless you are overweight - but they can usually tell by looking at you if your BMI is high (practically the first thing the midwife said to be at my booking in app ) so would probably write high BMI or some such on your notes.

Original poster

JamieJay · 21/05/2009 21:34

Thanks for humouring me people

I don't have an issue with being weighed myself (actually know my exact BMI - sad I know!), just wondered what they could make you do if they needed to results of a test (i.e. weighing) and you refused.

OP posts:

Portofino · 21/05/2009 21:34

I had a high BMI when I discovered I was PG. I can understand the fear about being weighed. But in reality this ceases to be about just you. They NEED to check all aspects of your health so that they can make plans for the birth/health of the baby. Hence things like having an HIV test for example.

Rosebud05 · 21/05/2009 21:41

This has vaguely been interesting me during this pregnancy. In my first 2 pregnancies, I was only weighed at booking in, though have been weighed at every apt this time. I wonder if it's in the NICE guidelines, as hospitals get a bit obsessed about following them. It does all seem very random as, apparently, I've hardly put on any weight. This can be accounted for by the fact that I was weighed in winter clothes (inc coat and boots!) the first time and have gradually worn less and less to apts as the weather has warmed up!
I'd say that yes, you could refuse to be weighed, but there wouldn't seem to be any particular advantage to doing so, esp if someone is concerned that their BMI might be a 'risk' factor. I think it's more that a high BMI might increase the likelihood of serious health risks eg high blood pressure, rather than be a risk in itself.

Tambajam · 21/05/2009 21:43

I have never been weighed in pregnancy. Last time my GP wanted to weigh me during my 6 wk check.

SoupDragon · 21/05/2009 21:47

I was weighed at every MW appointment during each of my 3 pregnancies. [shrug] I csn't see any reason to refuse.

EvieBear · 21/05/2009 21:57

Exactly - why would you refuse? Getting weighed is no big deal/has no side effects etc...

BikeRunSki · 21/05/2009 22:09

I wasn't weighed.

BikeRunSki · 21/05/2009 23:10

What I meant to say, was the MW didn't want to weigh me. Not that I refused. She said that pg women are under enough pressure as it is, without being weighed and worrying about their weight.

l39 · 22/05/2009 07:25

Is the weight important for the 16 - week Down's blood test? My midwife asked my weight when she took the blood and it appears on my results slip along with my age, how pregnant I was when the blood was taken and the levels of all that stuff in my blood (risk came out low). If it doesn't make any difference, why is it on the slip? On the other hand if it does, why didn't she weigh me herself? I told her what the hospital had said was my weight 4 weeks before when they weighed me after my 12- week scan and even then they weighed me with my shoes on ( and would have measured my height with shoes on too if I hadn't said something. Since my shoes were 3.5 inch heels it would have meant she recorded me as 5ft 2 and a half instead of my real height of 4ft 11 which would have made quite a difference to BMI. It looks more as if they're going through the motions than if they're really bothered).

AnarchyAunt · 22/05/2009 07:30

My midwife said the same as yours BikeRunSki - I asked if she wanted to weigh me and she gave me a look and said No.

How much use would a booking-in weight be for calculating an anaesthetic at term anyway? Surely they'd need an current one as it can go up so much during PG.

LovelyRitaMeterMaid · 22/05/2009 07:38

I can't remember if I was weighed when I was pregnant. I think I said how much I weighed at my booking appointment but don't think I was weighed again.

belgo · 22/05/2009 07:39

I refused to be weighed thoughout my pregnancy. My midwife was fine with it, but she made me promise that if I had any problems with swelling, I would be weighed.

A student doctor I saw was very surprised when I refused to be weighed, so I asked her to explain why it was necessary. She said it was to make sure I didn't put on too much as that would be bad for the baby. I told her I hadn't put on too much weight. The GP who was also there agreed with me, no need to be weighed.

Meglet · 22/05/2009 07:41

I was weighed at both of my first booking in appointments. First one I had a BMI of 18.5 and had consultant care, which involved him telling me I was just obviously a little bit skinny but nothing to worry about. They presumably wanted to make sure I wasn't hiding an eating disorder.

Divvy · 22/05/2009 07:43

They need your weight for the tripple test, cant be done without it.

Divvy · 22/05/2009 07:47

...or rather it can, but the results will be wrong. They guessed my weight, it caused alot of stress at the time, as it made the result a false high risk.

belgo · 22/05/2009 08:04

I also refused the triple test.

EyeballsisonaDietAgain · 22/05/2009 08:11

They didn't weigh me either, just asked for weight and height at my booking in. Mind you, my mw would have had to have lost her marbles not to see that I had a high BMI

Baisey · 22/05/2009 12:11

They weighed me when I was pregnant first time round I was a stick thin size 8 so definately not at risk of having high BMI! This time round, again, I was weighed and told I was borderline and I had shrunk half an inch
Must remember to NOT buy chocolate digestives when Ive had this child...

Hawkmoth · 22/05/2009 12:33

I lied first time. This time was just weighed at hospital at booking.

Here the cut off for high-risk is BMI 35... could be worth finding out which is closer to the NICE guidelines.

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