A
female
age
36-40,
*oldie22
writes:im expecting my first baby. When i told my mum one of the first things she said to me after congratulations was oh no your going to put on more weight! Im a size 16 uk so not a little person, but now im worried that my antinatal apointments are going to be geared around my weight and its really upset me! Are there any larger ladies who are pregnant or hav reciently been? Could you tell me how they aproached the subject of weight and what can I expect? I am over weight but I didnt think it would be a major issue. Reply to this Question
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female
reader, anonymous, writes (31 May 2011): I have had 2 children in the last 2 yrs. I became over weight when pregnant with my first child i gained 70 lbs! But with my second didnt gain anything. I can more or less tell u what the drs will monitor or watch for. They will really watch your blood pressure. They will watch to see if your legs swell to much which could indicate preaclampsia or other problems. If during labor your bp gets to high or your baby is stressed they will want to do a c section. Just eat right and try not to gain 70lbs like i did. Lol. Good luck.
A
female
reader, k_c100 +, writes (31 May 2011):
 Well your weight isnt that important anymore - if you are already overweight there is not much you can do about it now you are pregnant. If your midwife deems your weight to be a major issue, then they will tell you. But chances are if you are a 16 you are not particularly big, so they wont be massively concerned by your weight.
However - now is when you need to do a lot of reading up on pregnancy and what you need to do to make sure you have a healthy baby. Being overweight and pregnant has some health risks, so the main thing now is that you try your utmost not to eat badly and not to gain much more weight. If you are overweight then you should gain less weight than a pregnant woman with a normal BMI, therefore you cannot go into this thinking "Yipee I can eat for two!".
In fact, I would reccommend that you go on a healthy eating and gentle exercise regime in order to get yourself in better shape ready for this baby. The birth alone requires a very fit woman, you could be pushing for hours, and the easiest way to give birth is on all fours or squatting rather than laid on your back, so you need a good level of leg stregnth to do this.
And most importantly - your baby is eating what you eat. So if you are eating junk food, full of saturated fat, salt and sugar....then your baby is getting all that rubbish as well. Now you're pregnant it is more important than ever to eat well, with a good balanced diet and no more rubbish food. You may feel extra hungry now you are pregnant, but scientists have worked out that the extra number of calories a pregnant woman should eat per day for her growing baby is the equivalent of half a sandwich (and thats a 2 slices of bread sandwich, not anything bigger!). So you really dont need to put on massive amounts of weight to have a healthy baby, in fact you shouldnt be putting on much weight at all.
Have a read through these links as a starting point, it should help you:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_plus-size-and-pregnant-how-to-manage-your-weight-during-preg_1313887.bc
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/nutrition/overweightexpert/
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/plus-size/expertbirthcomplications/
And remember - you are responsible for a little life now as well as your own, and you dont want to do anything that might harm that little person inside you. So get healthy! Dont take up training for a marathon or anything like that, just start walking a bit more, maybe try so of the water-based classes local sports centres offer for pregnant women....try and be a bit more active each day to keep you in shape and to stregnthen your heart, improve blood flow and generally improve your mood too.
Make sure your diet is balanced and full of healthy foods that contain lots of vitamins to help the baby grow - cut out the junk food that can only harm your baby. A little bit of chocolate now and then is not going to hurt, but if you have a love of takeaways, or have giant portions of carbs each night then cut that down and try and improve your diet. If you visit your doctor they will be able to offer you lots of help and advice, the NHS has some great free schemes to help you get healthy, especially now you are pregnant.
And try not to worry about your mum's comments, I'm guessing she has seen you put on weight over the years and she is just worried about you. No mother wants to see their child overweight as it is bad for their health, so your mum will just be worried for your health. Prove her wrong and get healthy, and only gain the minium amount of weight that you need (as in the weight of the baby plus a few pounds in fluid) rather than doing the typical pregnant woman thing where they stuff their faces for 9 months solid and then put on 4 stones and wonder how they will ever get the weight off.
Keep in mind the baby will only weigh between 6 and 9 pounds (on average) so the rest of the weight you put on is just excess that you are going to have to work hard to lose, and getting above a UK size 16 is always problematic in terms of getting clothes etc - so dont allow your cravings or hunger to get the better of you, and have the health of your baby at the forefront of your mind at all times.
I hope this helps and good luck!
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (31 May 2011): Forget about weight OP and focus on eating a healthy balanced diet for you and your baby.
Every woman is different OP. You will get heavier as the baby grows, but you may not gain much extra fat. Moderate exercise like gentle swimming and eating well will help a lot and be good for the baby. But as far as weight goes forget about it. It's not a concern right now because you can't really do anything about it until the baby is born.
It's a common concern and one which I, as a man will never understand. Weight gain is part of pregnancy, it's the bodies way of ensuring it has enough food stored should you run out of food. It's the way the body makes sure your baby is safe.
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