Obesity link - Babies more chance for Complications during and after Pregnancy in Obese Moms

February 3rd, 2006

A recent paper published on Feb 3^rd, in the Inter Science online journal found that there is an increased risk for obese mothers to have complications during pregnancy.  They also have higher risks for babies being born with medical problems.

Obese women not only are faced with difficult pregnancies, they are also at an increased risk for infertility.  During pregnancy the obese woman has a higher chance of having hypertension, gestational diabetes and thromboembolic events.   Thromboembolic events are symptoms caused by blood clots which reduce or block blood flow to important tissues. These obese women are also more likely to need a cesarean section delivery.

The babies after delivery also have increased chances of spending time in the intensive care units after delivery.  There are also higher occurrences for neural tube defects, such as spina bifida.  A French study said that the overweight women tended to cost more for these deliveries and they stayed in the hospital longer.

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey believes that more than half are overweight of women aged 20 to 39 with almost one third being obese.  This could further become even more epidemic in the years to come as more children are obese during childhood than ever before in the United States. 

"The literature suggests that compared to normal weight women, women whose body mass index (BMI) is greater than or equal to 30 have approximately double the risk of having an affected child," stated the Public Affairs Committee who wrote the report.

The researchers cannot say that it is certain that the increased risk of birth defects are directly related to obesity; however there is some hints that there may be a link.

The report suggests that if you are planning on becoming pregnant you should try to lose weight well before ever trying to get pregnant.  You should not be dieting when trying to get pregnant as nutrition is extremely important during the whole pregnancy.  Planning your pregnancy can be an important step to improve the overall outcome.

The report does not recommend gastric bypass surgery at this time.  They do say that there have been reports of people having normal pregnancies and some have had improved outcomes compared to if they did not have the surgery.  The weight loss from the gastric bypass surgery also has helped in treating infertility for some overweight women.

"Because some weight loss procedures can result in nutritional deficiencies, it appears reasonable to recommend that pregnancy be delayed until surgery-related weight loss has stabilized," stated the researchers.

The report also said that after the baby is born these women should try to breast feed the baby as it has been shown to help protect children against childhood obesity.  They feel that nutrition education is important before and during pregnancy to plan for appropriate weight as well as eating appropriate nutrition during pregnancy.  If you are pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant, don’t do any dieting or modifications without consulting with your doctor first.

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By Nicole Wilson
Best Syndication Staff Writer

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