Question:
Has anyone experienced pregnancy while being morbidly obese?
I was planning on getting WLS in July. I just found out I am pregnant. This will be my third child. In my past two pregnancies I was not this overweight and out of shape. I am very concerned about difficulties this pregnancy will have on my baby and my body. It would help me so much to hear about others who have experienced this. — Joleen M. (posted on March 20, 2002)
March 20, 2002
I have 3 kids, i was overweight with my first but not mo. I was with my
second and third though, it was harder, especially in the third trimester,
but I have friends who are mo and didnt have any problems with it at all,
so I guess its like evrything else, we are all different! good luck with
your baby.
— rebecca N.
March 20, 2002
I was MO with my only pregnancy I was very active and did my best to eat
heathly and such. I didnt run into any problems other than at delivery, I
didnt progress past 5cm and had a c section, I was told that could have
happened regardless of my weight but heavier women have a higher rate of
sections. I had a healthy baby and a quick recovery from the c section.
Best of luck to you :)
— Laurie B.
March 20, 2002
I had a baby 6.5 months ago and was MO while pregnant. It was a difficult
pregnancy but I did everything I could to keep as healthy as possible.
Gave up caffeine and carbonation and ate healthy. I also forced myself to
walk every day a few miles. If I didn't walk my feet, ankles and legs
would swell terribly. I drank LOTS of water. I really think it helped me
feel better. This was my 3rd pregnancy (other two kids are 16 and 13) and
it was definately the hardest labor and delivery too. I think because I
was so out of shape. But I only gained about 18 pounds and lost it right
away. The doctor wanted to limit my weight gain to 15 pounds due to my
weight. Good luck with your pregnancy and CONGRATULATIONS!
— A. S.
March 20, 2002
i was mo with my only child and it was a high risk difficult preg. i thank
god i had a great grp. of docs. i had bp problems and severe swelling of
legs it was not fun to say the least. labor was induced baby delivered 4
weeks early. please take serious care of yourself and your baby congrats
cb
— Claudette B.
March 20, 2002
Congrats! I had a baby in June of 2000, and I weighed about 320. (I am 5 ft
10). I lost weight while pregnant, about 15 pounds, and it was a wonderful
pregnancy. I did develop gestational diabetes toward the end, but that was
the only thing that developed. Pregnancy was delightful for me, delivery
was normal and run-of-the-mill. I believe I can attribute that to the great
Dr. care I had.
— Jennifer G.
March 20, 2002
Hi, I was over 300 lbs at the birth of my first three, and topped out at
almost 400 when I gave birth to my 4th in June of 2000. The only real
problems I had was swelling of my feet and ankles, and slightly elevated
blood pressure. The best thing to do is not to diet, but eat correctly,
drink a lot of water, give up salt as much as you can,and make sure you are
under the care of a physician who has dealt with obese women and pregnancy.
I walked a lot, gave up my soda habit, and did everything my doctor told
me. My kids were all born healthy and are very healthy to this day. I
can't say that my pregnancies were easy, because I was uncomfortable as
heck, especially being so large, and swolen, but I made the best of it, and
made sure I was eating for 2 and not 5 or 6 haha! Most of my weight gain
was from swelling, and after I gave birth I went down to pre pregnancy
weight almost immedietley, although that was still MO. Now as for the
labor part, my labors were long and my doc said that was becuase I was
obese, now whether or not that is true , I'm not sure, but I do know that I
had no energy to do any of them (the labors) So that may be something you
want to work on, stamina, and exercising, according to your doc, to get
yourself in shape for the labor. E-mail me if you like
— Carey N.
March 20, 2002
hi!, i just delivered on 12/24/01 and i did'nt have any problems except for
a little pelvic pain from the added weight i started out at 322 and
delivered at 336 being m/o my doctor reccomended me not to diet and for me
to try not to gain more than 13 lbs it seems like a little but being
overweight your baby really only needs about 13 lbs to be healthy says my
dr. hope i've been of help!!!
— Dia C.
March 20, 2002
I actually lost 35 pounds while pregnant. The Dr wasn't worried he just
made sure I was eating he said the baby gets the nutrition first. I had
morning sickness throughout my pregnancy. I ate right, walked and had a
beautiful daughter with no complications.
— Candace F.
March 20, 2002
I've been MO during all of my pregnancies.. They can be a little more
complicated than a "thin" person's pregnancy, but while my second
pregnancy was "ideal" hardly any complications, 2 hr labor, my
third pregnancy was more complicated but 3 hr labor and healthy healthy
child. I was 290 with the first pregnancy, 320 with the second, and 455
when I delivered the baby. Don't let people scare you because of your
weight, it doesn't have to hinder a "normal" pregnancy, but if
you're concerned see a "high risk" ob just in case. My PCP
delivered my 3rd baby, but we had a "high risk" ob on stand by in
case something went wrong. (My PCP couldn't do a c-section, we were
expecting an 11 pound baby) Congratulations on your news! And Good luck on
your journey, it doesn't have to end for this.. there's always after-baby.
=)
— Elizabeth D.
March 20, 2002
I think that most of us have had a baby while being MO. We were blessed
enough to even get pregnant, because it's harder for MO to be fertile. My
only problems were elevated blood pressure and swelling. I had just lost
50 pounds on Weight Watchers and weighed 280. I gained 33 pounds and had a
c-section. I enjoyed my pregnancy! I actually got to eat whatever I
wanted, of course I ate healthy and took my vitamins. I lost all of the
weight the 1st month out, but because my eating habits had gotten worse
with the pregnancy, I still had the habit and gained it all back. I was
scared of diabetes and pre-eclempsia, but the Lord blessed me and I didn't
have to deal with too many complications.
— Stephanie N.
March 21, 2002
The only advice I can offer is to follow your Docs directions. I was
miserable, Gestational Diabetes, Hypertension, Bed rest for a month.
Excercise everyday (even if it is just walking) and eat healthy. I didn't
follow directions like I should have in the beginning of my pregnancy and I
regretted it. I hope all turns out well, congradulations!
— M. S.
March 21, 2002
I had my first baby at age 30, and 290 lbs. Then I had three more babies,
(at age 32, 34, and 36; four perfectly healthy babies in five years!), and
I was between 320 and 350 lbs.....My pregancies were normal, healthy, happy
and easy. I did have them all by C-Section but the reason was not related
to obesity. I now have a 16, 15, 13 and 11 year olds - all normal weight
and healthy.
(And I am, 9 months post-OpenVBG, and down from 340 lbs in June of 2001, to
207 lbs today!!)
— Cathy J.
March 21, 2002
Yes, I had both my babies while MO. I had terrible problems with both
pregnancies, including gestational diabetes. I gained 85 pounds between
the two of them. Both babies came early and were big. My 2nd weighed in
at 9 lbs 14 oz nearly 4 weeks early. I developed toxemia, and my bp was
stroke level. I was put in the hospital and not allowed to move for three
days. They gave me steroids to develop her lungs and took her by
c-section. She had developmental delays her first year, but is fine now.
She was misdiagnosed with a rare leukodystrophy because of her delays, and
thank God they were wrong. All the delays were caused ONLY from the early
delivery. My ob tied my tubes after the 2nd pregnancy, because the
difficulties only increase with each pregnancy. He did not think I would
make it through another, and I was very fertile - got pregnant while on the
pill FAITHFULLY both times. He attributed all my problems to morbid
obesity. Best wishes, and I hope your experience is a wonderful one!
— [Deactivated Member]
March 25, 2002
Yes I was MO while pregnant. I had several problems. I had a lot of
swelling in my feet, diabetes, and high blood pressure. I also ended up
with toxemia. The weight at time of delivery was 429 lbs. I had some
issues there for a moment, but I stayed postive and tried to walk as much
as I could and I drank water like I was in a desert. It's something to
think about, before making the final decision.
— TAMARA J.
July 4, 2002
I was 295# when I got pregnant with my baby and got up to 305# by the end.
Although I have a family history of high blood pressure and diabetes, I
exprienced none of these while pregnant (and still don't). I did have a
traumatic birth, however: they had to use the vacuum to get her out and I
had a bleed afterwards. But I think those probably had more to do with the
epidural than the morbid obesity.
— Patricia E.
January 25, 2006
I was MO with during my last two pregnancies. Except for trouble
breathing, and additional aching and pain associated with the obesity, the
pregnancies went pretty normal. I had to take Clomid to get pregnant,
which caused me to gain even MORE weight.
My first MO pregnancy ended with the birth of my son, who was born with a
club foot, club leg, Hirschsprung's disease, and asthma. None of these
can be attributed to Clomid or the MO, to my knowledge. Delivery had to
be induced with pitocin and labor was very very long, but he is a wonderful
10-yr old now.
My 8 yr old daughter's birth was also induced with pitocin, and there was a
horrid issue with the epidural - but that was attributable to the
anesthesiologist, not MO. Otherwise, everything was pretty good. With
her, I really ate well, lots of veggies and fruits and felt very very good
after the first trimester.
Now I am 3 yrs+ post op and pregnant. I am excited and happy and a bit
nervous, but this is a true miracle for me and I plan to take the best care
of the baby and me that I can.
— Dawn M.
Click Here to Return