Plus size

Are there additional risks ro being overweight during pregnancy?

Plus Size And Pregnant
In the United States, 3 our of every 10 women are considered obese. You are considered obese if your BMI is 30 or higher. Half of all pregnant women are considred overweight. While there are additional risks associated with being obese during pregnancy, most women will continue to have successful pregnancies. While doctors like to raise awareness about being overweight and pregnant, it is not to make the mother feel bad. The information is simply available as an extra means of education for what could potentially occur.

There are risks involved with being overweight during pregnancy. Not only can the extra weight make you feel sluggish and exhausted, your physical health and the health of your developing baby is at risk. Overweight women have increased risks of devoping hypertension and gestational diabetes. The risk of suffering a miscarriage or stillbirth is also increased if you are overweight. Because gestational diabetes carries the potential for a very large baby, overweight mothers are more likely to require a cesarean section to deliver their baby. Preeclampisa and hypertension raises the risk of a stroke, which also can cause a woman to have to deliver her baby via cesarean section. Performing a cesarean section on an overweight woman is also harder because of the additional layers of fat that have to be cut through.

Just as slender mothers and "average size" mothers will need maternity clothing, plus-size mothers will also need maternity clothes during their pregnancy. There are many stores that offer plus size maternity clothing for pregnant mothers. One of the easiest types of shirts to purchase is an empire waisted style that will allow you to show off your belly and stay comfortable as your pregnant belly grows. Often times, baggy t-shirts or stretch pants can be just as comfortable as maternity clothing. You do not have to spend a fortune to be comfortable during your pregnancy. Have a certified bra fitter measure you and fit you for a good fitting bra during your pregnancy. Check out online stores for additional options for larger maternity clothes if a particular store does not offer your size.

You can not diet during pregnancy. For the safety and well-being of your developing baby, losing weight during pregnancy is not recommended. Some women will lose some weight during the first trimester because of morning sickness and vomiting. However, you can watch what you eat and exercise to remain healthy throughout the nine months. Consume enough of the right calories, rather than eating high fat and calorie foods. Refrain from consuming foods and drinks that are high in sugar. Make sure that you are drinking plenty of water and exercise moderately daily. Health care providers recommend that an overweight woman gain approximately 15-25 pounds during her pregnancy.

Rather than focusing on the negative effects that being overweight and pregnany pose, try to focus on the positive. By eating the right foods, exercising and taking care of your body, you can continue with your pregnancy knowing that your actions are positively effecting your baby.

Comments: Plus size

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Peruana75 - 6 days ago.
Thank you all.... Ok so woke up this morning with awful diarreah and feel like throwing up and my belly is hurting, I think is the stomach flu.... anyone has any suggestions. Waiting to speak to the nurse

megs83 - 7 days ago.
Sorry I am so chatty today. I don't think it matters where you live, even online the selection of maternity clothes above an xl is ridiculous! And just wait until you try to find a nursing shirt above an xl. It's even harder than finding maternity ; ( Boo for clothing manufacturers! I am around a 20/22 pre pregnancy and I have found a few things at Motherhood, a decent selection at JC Penneys web site (they only go to xl in store) and ebay. If you order online, just be careful of the way things are sized. There are some brands that I can buy an XL shirt in, and other brands the same style shirt would need to be a 1x or 2x. It's so frustrating that you can't try things on first! Some stores though, will let you return online purchases to the store. I believe old navy, pennys and motherhood are that way. Not sure, so double check before you order. Good luck girls!

megs83 - 7 days ago.
Peruana- I understand your fears. I also had a late missed miscarriage last July. It truly does mess with your head. Feel free to check out the Pregnancy after Loss forum on this site. The women there are wonderfully supportive and fully understand the emotions that come with expecting again after losing a child. As for feeling your LO move, some women (even plus size) feel it around 13 weeks, other women (even very thin women) feel baby closer to 20+ weeks. There are a lot of factors like where the placenta is positioned as well as how baby is positioned. If your LO is kicking towards your back or cervix, you may not be feeling it. Also, at 14 weeks their tiny bones have not started to harden yet so you are more likely to feel 'wiggles' or the 'inside out' feeling the previous poster mentioned. I felt my first baby's movements at 15 weeks and this baby closer to 13wks. But it was rare and only in the evening when I was lying on the couch. I didn't start feeling definite movements with some sort of frequency until closer to 18-20 weeks. When you go for your appt., tell your OB you are concerned and ask if they can do the heartbeat check first. If they don't pick up the heartbeat with the handheld doppler, they should offer an ultrasound to check on your LO. If they don't offer-insist on one. There are lots of times baby won't cooperate and let the dr get the hb with the doppler but an u/s shows that baby is fine. It's purely evil when they send mommys home to worry when things are fine. Take a deep breath and keep loving that baby in your belly for all you are worth. Hang in there ((HUGS))

Peruana75 - 7 days ago.
Thanks ladies, I was started to get worried. It seems as everyone in week 14 can feel their baby and they keep complaining because they are not longer a size 2...... I am perfectly happy with my size 16 and blessed to be pregnant. Lost a baby in a missed miscarriage on May 08 so my innocense is gone. I worry if my baby still there. We go next week to hear the heartbeat and it happens to be my husband's birthday as well, praying everything goes well. I bought some maternity pants @ Old Navy on 60% off for about $6 (xl) and they are huge on me. They also have maternity shirts on clearance I picked up for about $2. I buy some of my stuff @ Target but it does not fit comfy so if I can keep getting deals in Old Navy then I will continue to shop there... Praying for everyone to have a safe pregnancy xoxo

KristinaS2010 - 8 days ago.
Hello everyone. jessica - I too am trying to shop for plus size maternity. I live in a smaller city so it's not going to well. If you find somewhere please let me know. I have just been wearing sweats. LOL Peruana75 - I didn't start feeling my little girl until alittle over a week ago and I was 21 weeks. But since everyone is different you could start feeling it move anytime now or it could still be several weeks. This is my first so I didn't understand the 'it will feel like a whoosh' answer. To me it feels like when you go over a hill and your stomach drops, just lower. debmomof2 - I know how you feel about the ultrasounds. They used a internal u/s until I went to see my high risk dr. This last visit (I was 22 weeks) they still had to do both to get all the pics they wanted, and still didn't get everything. I have to go back in 3 weeks for another one. Just hang in there. It was thanks to the internal u/s that we found out 100% it's a girl. She was sitting breach and so there was not much between her and the wand. Perfect shot. LOL Hope everyone else is doing good. Congrats to all!

momma120 - 8 days ago.
@ office girl, i totally relate, my ob sent me back to my regular dr, just so she could tell me about my weight. Funny thing is, my ob is about my size! so what was that about? @debmomof2 too funny! ican't imagine what my 2 yr old would say, but i know i'd be embarassed!!!

debmomof2 - 8 days ago.
ok so funny story! Anyone ever taken their other children to the doctors with them while you have a pelvic? Well me and my husband took my 2 year old to the first doc appointment to see the baby on the screen........ plus there is no baby sitter i am it lol anyways they had my legs up and doing their thing and my little girl scarlet rose gets off daddys lap looks at my midwife and says ' You clean pee pee' ! Yeah was to funny and my midwife and everyone else in the room was laughing wow i was red! anyways thought i would share a funny story with you all You never know what will come out of the mouths of babes

debmomof2 - 8 days ago.
peruana- i feel the baby now and i have been for a few weeks i am 11 weeks pregnant ! Now if you go and try to tell anyone else that they say its gas hahaha like i don't know what gas feels like to funny! Office- i know how you feel but mine is alittle differant i get things like they can't tell how big the baby is because of the fat or that they have to go up inside to do an ultrasound and wont even try to do it from the outside!!! This is the only page i feel at home in because it seems main stream woman for some reason or another never reply to others lol Thanks girls for making me feel like i belong!!!!!! :)

Peruana75 - 9 days ago.
Hi all.. glad to find this page. I am 14 weeks. Can anyone tell me when you started feeling the baby move? Thanks all!

officegirl - 9 days ago.
Big girls have more fun........except in Australia being plus size, pregnant and living in a regional area ( 450km or 724m from the nearest city) oh joy of joys to be told yet again that because I have a body mass index over a certain amount that I can not deliver at our regional hospital. AHHHHHHHH. My last pregnancy and birth was trouble free not high blood pressure, diabetes NOTHING!! I would love to know how they think I am going to take my 14yrold and 18thm old to the city for a week and who is going to care for them while I go to hospital taking my partner with me ! AHHHHHHHH. hmmm i feel a protest coming on hehe thanks for the vent ladies and gents!!

jessica-rn - 9 days ago.
Hi girls I'm glad I found this page! I am a bigger girl and never weigh myself... last week at my first doc appt I almost passed out when I saw my weight! I have really felt like I'd lost some due to ms but maybe not! It had been awhile since ive seen my weight so who knows...... I think I'm starting to show I'm 12 weeks but sometimes it just feels like I'm getting more belly fat. Does anyone know a good place to get plus size maternity clothes? I really feel so big I don't feel like anywhere will have things that fit me! I would love to have some friends to relate to on here!!

LaSal - 9 days ago.
If anyone has a chance could u go to my profile page and vote on whcih girl name you like the best? Thanks

LaSal - 13 days ago.
Krisitna- Congrats on finding out its a girl! My appetite has been a bit less and I have felt queasy but I think I am just concious of how much weight I gained before and can remember towards the end when I was so big that I would need to stop on the top step on the way upstairs to my room (seriously) and am hopeful to not repeat the same this time. I am going to hope I am like some of you and lose diring the pregnancy. That would be ideal.

KristinaS2010 - 13 days ago.
It's a girl! I'm so excited. Now I get to go shopping. LoL

LauraB29 - 14 days ago.
i'm nervous because I just read up on complications that can happen because of being over weight! I couldn't sleep last night.

debmomof2 - 14 days ago.
before me and my husband started trying to get pregnant i changed my diet and started taking vitamins........ that same month we were pregnant since then i have lost 13 lbs and still dropping it i was really worried about what my doctor would say but all she said was to not gain any weight. had my first appointment yesterday and baby is great and heartbeat is strong! I lost weight without the morning sickness which surprised the hell out of me lol just hang in there baby takes alot out of ya and u may not gain any weight at all :)

titangoddess - 14 days ago.
lasal.... LOL.. you really dont want MS... I had it for the first six months and it was horrible. I could not enjoy being PG at all and I lost 16lbs, not a bad thing considering but oh my I hate vomiting.... I would rather gain weight. Goodluck and wishing you no MS... trust sister, it so sucks.

KristinaS2010 - 14 days ago.
lasal - I too was worried about gaining too much weight but I'm already in my 6th month and I've only gained 2 lbs. Wait and see what happends before you start worrying too much, alot of plus size women I've talked to actually lost weight during their pregnancies. I wish....LOL

lasal - 14 days ago.
I am hoping to lose at least 15 with MS so that would be what I gain back throughout the pregnancy. It is just last time I gained 71 pounds and only lost/kept off 40 pounds of it whick put me 30 above where I started with my son.

Lynnerd26 - 15 days ago.
lasal dont worry too much, I was pretty petrified about it, however in 6 1/2 months I've put on 4 pounds, a 'normal woman' should gain between 25-40 pounds, and a plus sized girl shouldnt gain more than 15-20 over their whole pregnancy. So indulge just dont overexaggerate :P

lasal - 15 days ago.
So I just found out recently I and prego and am nervous about gaining weight. I am hopeful that the MS that will soon arrive will keep my weight down. Is that bad?

debmomof2 - 19 days ago.
yay kristina!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lynnerd26 - 19 days ago.
Kristina that's great!!!!!!!! I'm glad you're feeling your lil one moving around in there!!! :D

KristinaS2010 - 19 days ago.
Well, now I feel kinda silly. I guess it felt my apprehension last night, because while sitting watching TV last night I deffinatly felt the baby move. And I'm not sure it has stopped moving since. LOL

KristinaS2010 - 19 days ago.
Well I hope everything is ok with the little one. I have to lay down on my back to even feel where the baby is, so I am hoping its just that I don't really know what I'm feeling for. Wednesday seems a long time away. LOL