What is Affects Of Obesity During Pregnancy?

Have you ever thought being overweight affects your pregnancy? If not, it is good to know that obesity during pregnancy can affect you and your baby as well. When a woman is pregnant, it is important to eat enough to offer all the vital nutrients for her developing baby to grow strong. And every woman is encouraged to gain a little weight during pregnancy, but what if she is already obese? Women who are obese have a greater risk of pregnancy complications and their babies also have a higher risk of premature birth and certain birth defects. So, women who plan for pregnancy should maintain a healthy weight to prevent pregnancy complications which is safe for both mother and baby.


Are You Considered Obese?

To determine whether a person is obese or not, their BMI (Body Mass Index) is taken into the consideration. To calculate BMI, a person’s weight and height are used. If the BMI value is between 25 to 29.9, then a person is considered to be overweight. And a person is considered obese if the BMI value is greater than 30. So, everyone should keep track of their BMI values to stay healthy.

How Might Obesity Affect The Mother During Pregnancy?

As told earlier, being obese during pregnancy can increase the risk of many complications. They include:

Gestational Diabetes

Women who are obese have higher chances to have diabetes that develops during pregnancy, popularly known as gestational diabetes than women who have a normal weight.

Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication that is characterized by high blood pressure and a significant amount of protein in the urine. Women with a BMI of 35 or above at the beginning of pregnancy have doubled the risk of developing preeclampsia to that of women who have a BMI under 25.

Infection

Women who are obese during pregnancy are at higher risk of urinary tract infections. Being obese increases the risk of infections that would develop after childbirth, whether the baby is delivered vaginally or by C-section.

Miscarriage or Stillbirth

Miscarriage is the pregnancy loss that occurs before 20 weeks of pregnancy. Stillbirth is the fetal death at or after 20 to 28 weeks of pregnancy. Women with a BMI value greater than 30, have a higher risk of having miscarriage or stillbirth.

C-Section

Obesity increases the chance of complications from a c-section like an infection or heavy blood loss. It also increases the likelihood of emergency c-sections.

Labor Problems

Obesity increases the need for labor induction. Women who are obese have higher chances of needing to induce labor with the help of drugs or other methods instead of waiting to start labor naturally. Obesity also interferes with the use of anesthesia during c-section such as epidural block. It also increases the risk of pregnancy that continues beyond the expected due date, which needs a longer hospital stay.

How Might Obesity During Pregnancy Affect The Baby?

Premature Birth

In women who are obese during pregnancy likely to have an early delivery 3 weeks before the due date of pregnancy or at the 37th week of pregnancy. This is known as premature birth and this can give the baby less time to develop in the womb than normal. Premature birth can cause serious health problems for the baby.

Birth Defects

Birth defects are the health conditions that a baby has at birth. They change the shape or functionality of one or more parts of the body and can affect the overall development of the baby. This causes problems in the overall health of the baby. Obesity increases the risk of birth defects in the baby.

Macrosomia

Macrosomia is the condition that refers to describe a newborn with excessive birth weight. Women who are obese are at higher risk of delivering an infant who is significantly larger than the average and has more body fat than normal. This could lead to childhood obesity.

Chronic Conditions

Obesity during pregnancy can increase the risk of the baby developing chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes later in life.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. How does obesity affect a pregnant woman?

Obesity is associated with an increased risk of almost all pregnancy complications: gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, delivery of large babies for GA, and a higher incidence of birth defects, all occurring more frequently than in women with a BMI normal.

2. How do you manage obesity during pregnancy?

The main weight management strategies during pregnancy are diet control, exercise, and behavior modification. The goal is to avoid excessive weight gain during pregnancy, which is common in obese women.

3. Why is obesity bad during pregnancy?

Birth defects: Babies born to obese women have a higher risk of having birth defects, such as heart defects and neural tube defects (NTDs). Problems with diagnostic tests. An ultrasound test might be difficult to notice some issues with the anatomy of the fetus if you have too much body fat.