Overweight before getting pregnant?

[todzwife]

I have been trying desperately to lose weight this year but have only managed to lose about 10 pounds.

How bad is it to be pregnant when you are already overweight? I'm not huge, but I'm very short (5'2") and about a size 14. I was hoping to be a size 10ish but it's just not happening and I've tried EVERYTHING.

I'm currently eating healthy and exercising and hoping to get pregnant in the next couple of months...

Any advice?

[Pyrodjm]

I've been overweight my entire life, not morbidly obese but sizes 10-18 for most of my adult life. My first pregnancy (sz14) was wonderful except for a touch of pre-e at the end. Gained 50-60 lbs thanks to the water weight from pre-e, lost all but 10 pounds the 1st month PP. I swear I peed for 2 weeks straight after DD1 was born.

Second pregnancy i was size 16 at the beginning, gained about 25 lbs lost all but 5 by my 6wk check-up. I felt great the entire pregnancy, my BP stayed down and all was well.

Both were fast, uncomplicated homebirths.

I was VERY worried about my weight with my first pregnancy due to a horrible OB telling me outright that despite my excellent health, I shouldn't even consider trying to get pregnancy until I lost at least 20lbs. My midwife was not at all concerned with my weight. She said my medical history and the birth history of women in my family didn't indicate any problems. My overall health was good and she treated me like any other healthy mom-to-be.

[KLD313]

I'm 5'1" and about your size when I got pg with baby number 2. I was worried about it too but my friend, an l&d nurse told me if everyone were the perfect weight before they got pg there would be no babies. I gained almost no weight at first. I did end up with gestational diabetes but I think it helped with wright overall. By the time I delivered I gained 22 lbs. Two weeks after the birth I was 10 lbs less than my pre-pregnancy weight. I think eating well while pregnant was the key.

My midwives never mentioned my weight as an issue.

[mommyoftwo]

I was a size 12 when I got pregnant with Amelia and a size 16 for Linnea and the twins. I have always had complicated pregnancies but it has never been related to weight. I have never had any problems with my blood pressure and although I always fail my one hour glucose, so far I've always passed the three hour. Hopefully that will hold true with twins as well. I barely passed the one hour at 12 weeks.

There are lots of women who are overweight during their pregnancies that have no problems at all and plenty that are at their ideal weight that do. Obviously it's nice to be at a lower weight but I would not let that stop me from trying to get pregnant. I was told by my RE at the fertility clinic that being overweight can make it more difficult to get pregnant so that's something to consider if it becomes an issue. I got pregnant with no problem with the older girls but had to do IVF to get pregnant this time so you just never know. I did drop 12 lbs before this last IVF cycle but I have no idea if that actually made any difference in the end result. I think we just got really, really lucky.

[specialp]

First, congrats on those 10 lbs.!

Do you ovulate regularly? Or have any signs of PCOS? The only reason I ask is because women who have insulin resistance and/or PCOS have a very difficult time losing weight even when they seem to be doing all the "right" things that other women do. I do and looking back when I was "pudgy" in high school, it was so frustrating to be eating and exercising like everyone else and having no results, but my body needs a different balance of foods (less carbs) because of the IR in order to either lose or maintain weight.

Other than that, don't let weight in and of itself, be a barrier or overly concern you. It is great to be the ideal weight at pregnancy, but if not, no biggie. Just know that Dr. will probably want you to gain less than the typical 25-35 lbs during the pregnancy. If you look around the waiting room, mommies start at all different sizes.

Happy baby making!

[Jupiter]

I'm 20 weeks and was a size 14 when I got pregnant. My drs have said nothing about weight or how much or little I need to gain. I wouldn't worry, you can continue eating heathy and exercising while pregnant and you should be fine. My friend was thin and she gained like 70 lbs when pregant so is now fighting the weight loss.

Just remember it's never going to be a perfect time.

[Jacksmommy2b]

i was a 12 -14 and a solid 10 to 15 lbs heavier than my happy weight when I got pregnant this last time. I gained only like 25lbs and I am down to my pre baby weight at 3 weeks PP with no effort at all.

Oddly enough, I was at my heaviest for DD and this pregnancy was significantly easier on my body and I felt pretty great the whole way through, no sciatic pain or RLS that made me crazy with the boys.

As long as you aren't morbidly obese, I really wouldn't let your weight get in the way.

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[wellyes]

I was a size 18 with both pregnancies - in both cases, got pregnant in the first few months of trying and had uncomplicated pregnancies. I was eating well and working out, but obviously overweight, and it was not a problem for me.

[Snow mom]

I got pregnant at my highest ever weight (other than right before I delivered DD.) I knew I had gained weight but didn't realize how heavy I had gotten because I wasn't weighing myself regularly. I freaked out when I realized how much I weighed shortly after the + test but it hasn't even been mentioned by my OB. I expected she'd have something to say like that I should aim to gain less or that there might be health risks that I should watch for but nope. OP, I think you are ahead of the game in having a healthy diet and exercise routine. I wouldn't let a number goal stop you. Schedule a pre-conception appointment if it would make you feel better to get medical advice on your health and childbearing.

[maiaann]

I have no idea about weight. Many overweight women go on to have normal, uncomplicated pregnancies & healthy deliveries. My SIL is obese & had 2 very successful, textbook pregnancies. I'm 5'1" and petite (size 2-4) with low risk factors for pregnancy complications & I developed high blood pressure with DD2 (age 29) and a DVT with DD3 (age 32). :eek: Just get good prenatal care & try to take care of yourself the best you can. Body size is not necessarily an indication of how easy a pregnancy will be. I don't know how old you are, but I think age is more of a risk factor than being overweight, and even that is disputable to some degree (ie older women sometimes have easier pregnancies than younger women).

[todzwife]

I'm 31 and it would be my 4th pregnancy. I have an irritable uterus, but other than that and wicked SPD, I do ok.

I'm not huge. I'm about 165 pounds. About 10 pounds heavier than I was w/ Zoey.

[lizzywednesday]

I was overweight (actually, my BMI put me in the "obese" range) when I got pregnant with my DD.

MY concerns were for the increased risks of GD and pre-eclampsia at the outset. I was tested twice for GD - once at 10 weeks and the 2nd time later in my pregnancy (20-ish weeks?)

There's also a study from Scandinavia that implies a connection between an overweight mom and an increased risk of congenital heart defects, but I didn't read it or their methodology, so I don't know how the authors came to their conclusions. (Actually, my mom told me about it after my DD's heart defect was first diagnosed and I nearly killed her for it. An "oh, but you could have prevented this" kind of article was NOT what I needed from her at the time.)

Also, in my opinion, it's MUCH harder on your body to be pregnant when you're already overweight. I don't know that this is everyone's experience, but it certainly was mine!

Frankly, I'd like to lose 50lbs before I consider getting pregnant with a 2nd baby, but that may just be me.

[todzwife]

First, congrats on those 10 lbs.!

Do you ovulate regularly? Or have any signs of PCOS? The only reason I ask is because women who have insulin resistance and/or PCOS have a very difficult time losing weight even when they seem to be doing all the "right" things that other women do. I do and looking back when I was "pudgy" in high school, it was so frustrating to be eating and exercising like everyone else and having no results, but my body needs a different balance of foods (less carbs) because of the IR in order to either lose or maintain weight.

Other than that, don't let weight in and of itself, be a barrier or overly concern you. It is great to be the ideal weight at pregnancy, but if not, no biggie. Just know that Dr. will probably want you to gain less than the typical 25-35 lbs during the pregnancy. If you look around the waiting room, mommies start at all different sizes.

Happy baby making!

I have textbook 28 day cycles. I had my thyroid tested but they only tested one thing and it was fine. I actually think that I may have adrenal fatigue from dieting so much. I'm hoping that eating like I have GD will help keep me from gaining a lot.

[Beth24]

I have textbook 28 day cycles. I had my thyroid tested but they only tested one thing and it was fine. I actually think that I may have adrenal fatigue from dieting so much. I'm hoping that eating like I have GD will help keep me from gaining a lot.

I had GD during my 4th pregnancy (I was overweight but not obese). I gained 6 pound total and weighed less after DS was born than I did before I got pregnant. The GD diet will definitely keep you from gaining a lot of weight.

[Fairy]

Have not read the other replies. I've been overweight my entire life. The textbooks and docs are going to tell you that being overweight before you get pregnant is a very difficult thing and you will be at higher risk to go gestational, yadda yadda. From what you describe -- a size 14? GASP! I am not feeling shock at that. I was a size 20 when I got pregnant, lost 20 lbs WHILE pregnant (best diet ever), and made them test me a second time -- the long one -- for the GD, because I passed. They told me "you're gonna get it, just be prepared, it's gonna be horrible." Yeah, not so much.

Everyone is different, and every body responds differently to every pregnancy. Who knows, if I got pregnant tomnorrow I might be a wreck, tho I weigh less today than I did when I got pregnant with DS. But I had those same fears as you do, I've been there. just eat healthy, get in that folic acid, stay away from artificial sweetner, and be smart.

Best place for plus size maternity clothes,for me, was the Gap.

[AnnieW625]

I am overweight, and probably have been since I was 12 or 13 yrs. old based on whatever scale or textbook is being taught about weight loss (4'11 and 110lbs at 12, and then 140 at 14-22 and being 5'6" wasn't obese, but it wasn't the low end of the scale either in the 90s). I was in a "healthy" range with WW when I got pregnant with DD1, and still about 20lbs. from that healthy range when I got pregnant with DD2 (losing baby 2 between DD1 and DD2 left me with about 15lbs I am still trying to lose; only lost 8 of those lbs. before getting pregnant again). I had more issues (stress related about having a second child) when I got pregnant with baby 2. We tried for 6 months. I got pregnant with DD2 at my heaviest adult weight ever and got pregnant 10 weeks after the loss of baby 2. We were not trying.