Overweight During Pregnancy: Risks and Complications

When we are first-time pregnant, we have concluded that we have to eat a lot for the baby. But women are unaware of the after-effects of their baby’s birth. We are not telling you to have a strict diet during pregnancy. Of course, doctors also recommend women should gain weight during their pregnancy period. But if you are obese, do you think overeating can also affect your baby? So at first, get to know whether you have obesity or not.

How to Check Obesity?

Normally, if you have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above, you are considered obese. If you know your height and weight, we can easily calculate your BMI. An online calculator is also available, which helps us find BMI. Just enter your information and calculate your obesity.

Overweight During Pregnancy

We believe that losing weight during pregnancy might harm the baby in the womb. Because of the higher intake, the child will get the nutrients for their growth. However, women with obesity are at greater risk of pregnancy complications (like preeclampsia and gestational diabetes). Also, their babies have a higher risk of premature birth and others. But don’t worry, the recent study published in British Medical Journal found that women with obesity who undergo diet and exercise counseling had better delivery. It includes both mother and baby. The dietary changes that obese women underwent have 33 percent reduced risk of preeclampsia and 61 percent reduced risk of gestational diabetes.

Mother’s Risk of Obesity

If a mother is in obesity during her pregnancy, it will increase the risk of complications during delivery. Those complications include,

• Miscarriage
• Blood Clot
• Gestational Diabetes
• High Blood Pressure and Preeclampsia
• Massive Bleeding than normal

These are the most common complications women go through in their delivery. It can occur to any woman whether they are obese or not. But people with a BMI of 30 or above have higher chances of suffering from these complications.

How’s it for Baby?

If the mother suffers so much due to this, what the child will go through is given below.

• Early born (before 37 weeks)
• Have more fat at birth
• Stillbirth
• Congenital Disabilities like Spina Bifida
• Babies might have a higher risk of chronic conditions like heart diseases or diabetes while growing

After knowing so many things, you guys might probably panic or overthink right. As the saying goes, there is a solution for every problem. After following certain things during your pregnancy, we can have safe and sound delivery.

Tips for Healthy Pregnancy

Some simple ways can be recommended by the expect about weight loss tips for ladies.

1. Have Consultation

First, you need to get a consultation from the doctor about the exercise program. They can give a detailed routine that you need to follow during pregnancy. Most importantly, they can refer you to a dietitian and follow up to have a healthy pregnancy. You guys can take it as an opportunity to start an exercise program and change your diet. It might help motivate having a different and lavish lifestyle to make your baby healthier.

2. Slow Beginning

Start doing exercise for just five or 10 minutes in the beginning. After every week, slowly increase five more minutes. Then it would help if you had a goal of about 30 to 45 minutes of exercise daily. Don’t abandon the exercise because of tiredness, have a frequent exercise routine.

3. Keep a Personal Journal

A journal is the best way to know yourself better. Because keeping notes of what you are eating and how many times you are drinking water will help keep sufficient nutrients.

4. Avoid Junk Food

You might crave fast food, sweets, soda, pastries, and more during pregnancy. It is advised to take this food in moderation for your health.