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?

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.

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.

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!

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.