Obesity is defined as severe overweight. It begins at a body mass index (BMI) of 30 and is then divided into three different levels of severity. All forms of obesity can lead to serious secondary illnesses such as high blood pressure, diabetes, shortness of breath and cardiovascular diseases, as well as joint wear and tear. What if you want to have children under these circumstances?
Severe obesity often has a negative impact on fertility. However, the risks during pregnancy are much greater, both for the mother and for the child. Obese women who are planning to have children should therefore definitely lose a significant amount of weight before becoming pregnant, ideally to a normal weight. Dieting during pregnancy is out of the question, as it can harm the unborn child.
Risks at the beginning of pregnancy
Pregnant women who are obese should definitely be carefully monitored by a doctor throughout their pregnancy. This is the only way to ensure that complications for the mother or child caused by obesity are recognised and treated in good time.
The usual ultrasound examinations during pregnancy are less reliable in the case of obese patients because the signals cannot penetrate far enough into the abdominal cavity. Possible complications such as malformations of the baby are often detected too late or not at all.
The mother-to-be also misses the child’s first movements due to the increased abdominal girth. While women of normal weight feel these typical signs as early as the 18th week of pregnancy, this effect often occurs in obese patients only after the 24th week.
The pregnancy also becomes apparent later and differently to the outside world. While the belly of a pregnant woman of normal weight is compact, small and rather low, the babies of obese women have enough space to develop in the already excessively large belly. This means that such pregnancies are often only recognised very late.
Further risks
Women who suffer from obesity are exposed to significantly greater health risks anyway. During pregnancy, this risk increases and may also affect the unborn child.
The possibility of developing gestational diabetes is significantly higher due to the pre-existing insulin sensitivity. A glucose tolerance test, which is usually performed at 24 weeks of pregnancy, checks for this risk. In addition to monitoring blood sugar levels, pregnant women who are severely overweight also need to have their blood pressure checked very frequently, along with the development of the unborn child.
The high blood pressure that often occurs in obese women can lead to preeclampsia and eclampsia, which are characterised by protein excretion in the urine and often severe cramps.
The birth
Statistics show that obese pregnant women are more likely to experience premature birth or miscarriage. There is also a risk that the unborn child will have to be delivered by caesarean section or that labour will have to be induced. The higher the BMI of the mother-to-be, the higher the risk of abnormal fetal heartbeats in the baby shortly before birth. An increased BMI also favours a discrepancy between the birth canal and the size of the head. Overall, there is a significantly increased risk of complications during birth.
Impact on the child’s life
Even if the baby is born healthy, the mother’s obesity can cause lasting damage. According to a British study, children of obese mothers are at a significantly higher risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease later in life. Furthermore, affected children often become severely overweight themselves later in life and have to accept the associated risks.
Precaution
Severely overweight women who are planning to become pregnant or are already pregnant should pay particular attention to their diet, in addition to adequate medical monitoring. It is not true that expectant mothers should ‘eat for two’. Instead, affected women should ensure that they have a particularly balanced and healthy diet that is rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre.
