Obesity & Pregnancy
Obesity when pregnant puts both mother and baby at great risk, as obesity doubles the risk of the baby being born with neural tube defects. Even if the intake of folic acid is adequate, it doesn’t completely protect the baby from this risk. Obese women have a greater risk of developing complications during pregnancy as compared with normal-weight women.
Pregnant women who are obese run higher risks of infertility and complications during pregnancy, which include hypertension, gestational diabetes and blood clots. Women who are obese mostly require cesarean sections. Only few obese women have normal pregnancies.
A recent study in France found that prenatal care costs in hospitals for obese women range from five to sixteen times more than for women of normal weight, depending on how obese the woman was. It was recommended that women should try and lose weight before getting pregnant with diet and frequent exercise. But dieting during pregnancy is not the answer. Adequate nutrition is important for pregnant women and women planning pregnancy.
Women who have undergone a surgery and have gastric banding can have normal pregnancies as compared with women have not had the surgery, but it is recommended that pregnancy be delayed until surgery-related weight loss has stabilized.
Tips & Tricks
If you water bag breaks, stay calm and call your gynaec. Wear a sanitary pad to protect your clothes and on the way to the hospital, use a plastic sheet to prevent the car seat from getting soiled.
Before buying a home pregnancy test kit, be sure to check the expiry date. For accurate results, take the test after one week after the missed period; testing very early, can give you negative results.
Dry fruits are a rich source of iron and contain high dietary fibre. They also meet your nutritional needs during pregnancy
Trivia
Getting Pregnant
According to a survey conducted at Iowa State College in 1969, the parent's stress at the time of conception plays a major role in determining baby's sex. The child tends to be of the same sex as the parent who is under less stress.