I am watching the Obese and Pregnant documentary on TLC. So eye opening and insightful---one of the women is 340lbs, and I know firsthand that when I was closer to 330lbs, I really did feel like I was struggling more to get up the stairs.
Right now I still get winded, but much better than 30lbs ago. I know that if I want to have a child, I have got to get down to a much healthier weight. Maybe, hopefully, in my weightloss progress, I will get other stuff in my life a bit more sorted out and I will meet the right guy that wants to make babies with me.
If you are similar to me, I strongly recommend this show....the women are very honest about their experience as an obese mom-to-be. Even just the difficult ultrasound test, which sounds like it would be more of a sophomoric joke, is, well, the reality of the situation. I don't want that for myself. I want to make things as easy for my future child as possible. I don't want to make it more difficult for them if I can prevent it.
I was obese and preg when I had my son. Yes it was probably harder for me then it would have been for a thin person. I also ended up with gestational diabetes, BUT and there is a huge BUT ... my son was exceptionally healthy throughout my entire pregnancy. I was able to workout on my elliptical everyday (in fact I had to to keep my blood sugar in check). I never had to go on insulin I was able to control it with diet and exercise. He was born weighing 7lbs and was 21 inches long. He was not a big baby, he was very average and scored beautifully on all the tests they run on new babies. Also, I didn't have to have a c-section or anything of the sort. Once I was in active labor (when you are ready to push) it took less then 5 minutes to have him. I was able to get an eepidural no problem and was up walking around the maternity ward less then an hour after I had him. To be honest. My pregnancy and delivery was far smoother then ANY of my thin friends.
I did not see the documentary and I am sure I am not the average when it comes to obese and preg, but it should NOT deter someone from wanting a family. I did tell my husband that I wanted to be no more then 250 before we try for a second (I was closer to 330 when I got pregnant with my son). I am hopeing to be under 200, but the risks of having babies after 35, for me, is greater then the risks while I am obese. The biggest thing I will have to be sure of is that before we start trying, make sure my blood sugar is still normal. Having diabetes and getting pregnant without having your blood sugar under control could cause harm to the developing child, but other then that I am sure everything will be just fine. FYI, I followed my diabetic diet to a T whie preg and lost 35 lbs BEFORE having the baby (granted all that came back after he was born... but you get the picture).
I will say that sonos were HORRIBLE. The comedy of errors that occured when we were trying to determine the sex was unreal.
I have seen that documentary and it was all too real for me. I have 3 children and I was around 230 when I got pregnant with the first, 295 with the second and 311 with the 3rd. I was 353 when I delivered my 3rd, and quickly dropped back down to around 315. Within 3 1/2 years I had gained all of that weight back and was back at 353 when I realized last October that I now weighed what I did on the day of delivery, and I wasn't pregnant. It was a sobering thought. I can tell you from experience that my first pregnancy although not without back pain, was my easiest. My 3rd at the weight I was at about killed me. I developed PIH,(pregnancy induced hypertension), that I was not able to get rid of after delivery and was on blood pressure meds until earlier this year when I finally lost weight. I had my tubes tied after my 3rd as well. I was 36 when I delivered, but I knew I could never go through that again. I was constantly out of breath and so uncomfortable. I feel so thankful that I have 3 healthy children that did not suffer ill effects because of my weight.
Also, wanted to add that all 3 of my children were delivered via c-section so that made recovery even worse being obese. Ultra sounds were a moment of extreme anxiety for me, because I always knew they were going to have difficulty seeing the baby and getting a heartbeat.
Last edited by OrganizedChaos; 05-17-2010 at 11:23 AM.
The program really helps to keep me motivated about my diet. I want to have a family, and I don't want to make things more difficult just because I overeat or like junk food. I also don't want to have to do insulin or anything that could affect my future baby.
Really good show....I don't think it is meant to deter people from having children, but can really show how difficult it can be when one is already obese even before the usual pregnancy weight gain.
I haven't seen the documentary, but I only hope they aren't lumping all obese women into one group. Both my pregnancies were easy luckily and I didn't have problems with ultrasounds or any other procedures. Myabe because I'm taller or carry my weight differently, not sure, but I found with my second especcially I exercised each 5 days a wk and worked 40 hrs a week doing cleaning up until the 7th month, I'm sure my body was more conditioned since I do workout but the weight did not cause any problems with me or my 2 children.
I know there are many pregnancies not only for obese but also thin women that are difficult, I just hope the documentary is not generalizing.
I, too, was obese when I had both of my kids. I actually lost 30-35 pounds each pregnancy. My kids were 6 pounds and 7 pounds 6 ounces. Vaginal birth and very healthy.
I felt great all through my pregnancy. I ate better than I had the rest of my life. But, I did have fertility issues and my cycle was always off (until my three miscarriages) which I'm sure were weight related.
The important thing is having a doctor who knows about the issues that pregnant overweight women have.
I am noticing a pattern---there are those that are more in the NAAFTA group, and those that are kind of anti-Naafta. I think it is good to have a equal balance between the two.
The documentary was discussing obese women, most of them morbidly obese (100lbs overweight). I understand that there are some of us in this category who don't feel any of the effects of our being overweight, and thus, we don't understand all the concern and worry and hoopla. I, however, can feel my weight at this current weight, and I can only imagine how much more difficult it is to be obese and pregnant. I wish there was an equal balance where the two groups could merge and see that there are plenty of levels of being overweight that do not harm the body, and that there are true levels of being obese that eventually do harm the body, regardless of how a person feels currently.
I do not believe that obese people are taxing the insurance companies, I do feel that the insurance companies are kind of promoting that idea, and then it just becomes a sort of backlash on obese people, which upsets me. I also do not agree with all of the height weight charts. Again, if I am 200lbs overweight, I can't say it is just my bone structure.
As an obese person, I do understand the risks of being obese. I don't think it is wrong to point out those risks. It is true that some people are healthier, though they are overweight and may not have those issues, but for a lot of us, being 100lbs overweight, while we may adjust to it, may not be something our body really enjoys.
I never had ultrasound issues either. I weighed 350 and we were able to even see the baby's hair on a standard 2-d ultrasound. I never developed GD with either pregnancy. I have chronic hypertension, though, and developed pre-e and HELLP with the first. If I weren't so fat my risk for pre-e would have been lower, so who knows... a thinner me might have avoided that scary drama.
Definitely being as healthy as possible is best, and it's awesome that you are thinking ahead about these things. You'll be a wonderful and devoted mother someday!!!
But for anyone obese and already pregnant that is reading this thread - just know that you are not doomed to misery! I felt FANTASTIC while pregnant, and even lost weight (not on purpose). High risk is not destiny! Every pregnancy is different and weight is just one of many risk factors. In fact, my 2nd higher weight pregnancy was totally smooth - no drama!
But having said that, the desire to start a family is awesome motivation for getting healthy. It can even help improve fertility!!!
I am noticing a pattern---there are those that are more in the NAAFTA group, and those that are kind of anti-Naafta. I think it is good to have a equal balance between the two.
The documentary was discussing obese women, most of them morbidly obese (100lbs overweight). I understand that there are some of us in this category who don't feel any of the effects of our being overweight, and thus, we don't understand all the concern and worry and hoopla. I, however, can feel my weight at this current weight, and I can only imagine how much more difficult it is to be obese and pregnant. I wish there was an equal balance where the two groups could merge and see that there are plenty of levels of being overweight that do not harm the body, and that there are true levels of being obese that eventually do harm the body, regardless of how a person feels currently.
I do not believe that obese people are taxing the insurance companies, I do feel that the insurance companies are kind of promoting that idea, and then it just becomes a sort of backlash on obese people, which upsets me. I also do not agree with all of the height weight charts. Again, if I am 200lbs overweight, I can't say it is just my bone structure.
As an obese person, I do understand the risks of being obese. I don't think it is wrong to point out those risks. It is true that some people are healthier, though they are overweight and may not have those issues, but for a lot of us, being 100lbs overweight, while we may adjust to it, may not be something our body really enjoys.
I weighed 330 at the beginning of my pregnancy with my son and 360 at beginning of pregnancy with my daughter.
High blood pressure was the main problem and yes it can become a serious problem quick! But... everything went well. normal vaginal delivery with son to a healthy 7lbs 7 oz boy at 38 weeks and a scheduled c-section due to a breech baby for my daughter at 39 weeks - she was 8lbs 8oz.
We are not having any more babies though...
I never had ultrasound issues either. I weighed 350 and we were able to even see the baby's hair on a standard 2-d ultrasound. I never developed GD with either pregnancy. I have chronic hypertension, though, and developed pre-e and HELLP with the first. If I weren't so fat my risk for pre-e would have been lower, so who knows... a thinner me might have avoided that scary drama.
Definitely being as healthy as possible is best, and it's awesome that you are thinking ahead about these things. You'll be a wonderful and devoted mother someday!!!
But for anyone obese and already pregnant that is reading this thread - just know that you are not doomed to misery! I felt FANTASTIC while pregnant, and even lost weight (not on purpose). High risk is not destiny! Every pregnancy is different and weight is just one of many risk factors. In fact, my 2nd higher weight pregnancy was totally smooth - no drama!
But having said that, the desire to start a family is awesome motivation for getting healthy. It can even help improve fertility!!!
Great post, MAMA! ITA! I want to encourage women who want to have children to by all means have them. What the documentary did for me is to get me even more focused on being as healthy as I possibly can before I decide to have children.
I was 276lbs. when my son was born. I had artificial insemination to have my son. The getting pregnant part wasn't me it was my husband. I had gestational diabetes, but controlled it with diet. I had high BP going into the pregnancy so that was controlled from the start. My delivery was by C-section, but again not because of my weight. My son turned sideways and his head got stuck in the birth canal. An ultrasound was done during labor due to extreme pain in my ribs on my left side everytime I pushed. The doctor laughed and said, "That darn kid is pushing with his feet everytime mom pushes." He was pushing against my ribs. After the C-section I had a beautiful 7lbs. 11oz. son. He has been the highlight of my life for 13 1/2 yrs. now.
Wanting to have children is a wonderful reason to get healthy, but not all obese pregnancies are that complicated. I know of several healthy weight people that had rough pregnancies. They had GD, HB, the works and were put on bed rest.
I was young when I had my kids, 19 when I had April/21 when I had Estevan. I guess I was lucky, it was so easy for me to get pregnant, Pablo and I joked that all we had to do was look at each other and I got pregnant. Delivery was intense but I don't know how much it had to do with my weight, both kids were 24 inches long and weighed around 9 and a half pounds, so they were big babies. They couldn't even wear newborn clothes started out in 3-6 months.
I'm wondering too how much attitude affects pregnancy and delivery, I was so excited with the birth of both of my children. I took my job as a mother seriously and was full of joy and happiness. Over the years, I've noticed that women in unhappy marriages seem to have a harder time.
Just a thought.
Last edited by sweetcakes736; 05-17-2010 at 03:00 PM.
I was 274 when I got pregnant with my son. It was a double shocker because I didn't think I weighed that much and I didn't know I was pregnant.
Besides GD, I had a great pregnancy (I can't wait to do it again!) I managed with diet and exercise. My son was 7lbs 6oz. I did have a c-section, but that was due to his huge head! It wouldn't fit through my pelvis. To this day, he's still at 97% for head size lol
We're going to be trying for another child as soon as I'm down under 225. While I had an easy first time, I know it can't always be the same
Obese and Pregnant...anyone else watching this?
