My husband and I want to try to start our family soon ....and he is pushing for me to get prego soon. I want to get back down to my lowest weight (plus i just feel horrible at this weight) before I get prego. I'm afraid of what health risks I may develop if I get prego while over weight. Does anyone have any ideas about pregnacy while over weight? is it that bad or should i just keep telling him no?!?! Plus we are both in our 30's and time is against us... HELP!!

Honestly - I would throw the birth control out the window BUT I would focus on trying to lose weight, living a healthy lifestyle and preparing your body for pregnancy (eg cut out caffiene, start taking prenatals etc...). If you happen to get pregnant along the way, great! Even for someone at a healthy weight, conceiving can take a while, so you may be disappointed in how long it takes if you wait until you're at your goal weight.

As long as you don't have any current health problems you're concerned about (high BP, diabetes etc...) you can still have a healthy pregnancy even if you're overweight. I would highly suggest getting a full check up with your doctor and let them know of your plans. They can be a source of great support and reassurance if you have a good one.

Just sneaking in here
I weighed 203 pounds at the begining of both of my pregnancies -- had no medical problems before/during and actually the idea of nourising another person made me eat amazingly well during pregnancy -- I did fine -- had two baby boys -- 23 1/2 inches, 23 inches and 10 lbs 13 oz, 10 lbs 3 ozs!! Get a good check up, start taking the vitamins now, eating right and exercising and you are ready to be a mom!!!

I'm not sure trying to conceive while obese is a good idea. You increase your chances of serious complications, and you put both yourself and your child at risk.

If you happen to get pregnant while obese or overweight, you should of course make the best of it and follow all advice from your OB-GYN. But I think your instincts are right and you should put it off until you've lost weight.

I googled 'pregnancy and obesity' and found some frightening statistics. According to several pregnancy websites, being obese in America automatically classifies you as a "high risk" pregnancy. Plenty of women do successfully have babies while obese or overweight, but plenty have complications, often serious - including increased risk of death for either one of you.

It's up to you and your husband if you want to risk your health and the health of your baby by not waiting until you lose weight. Please discuss this with your doctor, who will know more about your current health and any risks, and will also advise you on what he or she feels is appropriate.

I hope I haven't offended anyone. Nothing is more beautiful than creating a baby, and it's an exciting decision for anyone. But no matter how beautiful the experience is, the risk is still very real and should be the first concern.


Besides, what better motivation to stick to a diet plan and reach more than one goal!

Often it takes a few months to more than a year to successfully conceive a baby once you start trying.

In all of my three pregnancies I have been under 200 pounds when I started them, but I have never started a pregnancy at say, 120 pounds or anything like that. I was usually around 150-165 pounds at the start of each pregnancy.

I don't recommend (and remember, this is my opinion only) that you wait to start trying until you are at your "goal" weight-because that could be well over a year from now to start trying, and then months after that before you conceive.

However, it would do you some good to start exercising, eating better, taking a vitamin that contains folic acid (they don't have to be prenatals), and start getting healthier now.

While I would be too impatient to wait until my goal weight, I would, at your current weight, not start "trying" until I got closer to the 200 pound mark. Then, once you started trying, you could be even smaller than that once you actually conceive.

While I don't think that you need to be thin to get pregnant, getting to at least near 200 pounds would be a lot healthier for you and the baby than over 250 pounds. It would reduce a lot of the health risks.

On this same note, due to your age, I wouldn't wait until I was at 150 to start trying, because of the risks that start rising due to the age of the mother (usually starting at age 35-40).

Hi tired!

I'm going to suggest that you go visit your doctor for a frank discussion about the risks. It is true that average overweight or obese woman has more risks than the average woman of normal weight. Having said that, "high risk" is thrown around a lot in an obstetrical sense is often (not always) still quite low in an absolute sense. It is important to understand what your risks are. People like to use categories like overweight or advanced maternal age to better understand the risks, but it by no means defines how the pregnancy will go, and having a risk factor does not necessarily make you or your child a walking death wish. It is scary to hear that a risk doubles as you age or gain 10 pounds or whatever, but if it was a very small risk to start with, it is still a small risk. Note that not all risks are small to begin with, so you do need to get the facts.

It is true that you are, well, you, and not necessarily the poster child for an obese woman. For example, some women have perfect blood sugars at a higher weight, while others may be pre-diabetic at only, say 30 lbs up. Being pre-diabetic would put you at very high risk for developing gestational diabetes and the complications that go along with that, so you would need to take that into account. In other words, you might be at relatively low risk for that particular outcome now, or you might need to get much closer to a healthy weight to drive that one down. Only you and your doctor can decide that--the statistics are useless in understanding your own situation. When you understand what your personal risks are, for you and your baby, then you can make an informed choice for your family.

Good luck with your decision.

Anne