[Miss Honey]

hey Y'all

I wanted to get some advice from my go to ladies on dieting and health. Right now I am going on 26 in August and I have no children. I really want children but, I told myself to wait until I'm a healthy weight before I start trying for a baby. I guess my question is, does weight really affect your pregnancy? Or am being overly concern for little or not reason?

[murphmitch]

Depending on the degree of obesity, mothers that are overweight have an increased risk of hypertension, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and cesarean section delivery. Also and increased risk of developing blood clots, especially post-delivery. This obviously puts the baby at higher risk with each of these. I work on a mother-baby floor and I see some moms have all of these complications during the same pregnancy. Any weight you can lose before getting pregnant will decrease your risk. Many women go in for pre-conception counseling prior to getting pregnant. It would be advisable to discuss these concerns with your doctor.

[rockinrobin]

Miss Honey, if you have any concerns whatsoever I really think you need to discuss this with your doctor. Every case is individual and we're just not qualified to answer that question for you. I urge you to make an appointment with your doctor, either an obstertician/gynecologist or even your general practioner. They'll be able to give you the low down on you and what's best for you. Good luck to you.

[Eves]

I second Robin`s suggestion about speaking to your doctor, but I will also add that fit women in general have easier births and recover faster.

The old "My ma dug potatoes before I was born and afterwards she fried them" isn`t that far off because those women were fit from their work.

I`m 27 and I`ve decided to get to goal and maintain for a year before getting pregnant. But that`s where my priorities lie at the moment. Good luck to you!

[queenjane]

The advice to talk to your doctor is spot-on. I did pre-conception counseling, knew the risks, and got pregnant when I was in my 180s (but I was also 37, so running out of time!) Pregnancy is hard on your body when you're already heavy. Luckily, I didn't get any gestational diabetes, preeclamsia or other complications, but I was VERY strict with my eating & exercise while pregnant. There's a great book for overweight pregnancy called "Carrying a little extra" that you might want to check out of the library to learn more about the risks more generally -- it might help you have a more informed discussion with your doctor and ultimately a more informed decision on starting your family.