Plus sized and pregnant!

[Rayven]

Well, i am plus sized, currently topping the scales at 18 stone 5lbs & have recently found out that i'm pregnant. Now being a larger lady i was very worried about how my weight would effect this pregnancy as i'm bigger than i ever was with my other two children. I have discussed my worries with my midwife, who has assured me that me being plus sized will in no way effect the baby, although i could (because of my high bmi) towards the end of the pregnancy develop diabetes! (which is very worrying) I was assured that i must be fairly healthy in order to conceive in the first place but i'm still worried about it.
I'm currently 16 weeks and i have to say that although the midwife said my weight wouldn't really effect this pregnancy i have felt absoluely bloody awful during the first 12 weeks. I know that thats how you generally feel when first pregnant but I never felt this bad with the other two! I was lethargic (to the point where i struggled to even take the kids to and from school and nearly passed out, on several occasions while driving!) & consistently felt dizzy if standing for more than a couple of minutes! I tried improving my eating habits but that didn't help & my iron levels were supposedly fine - so i honestly think that my weight coupled with my raging hormones were to blame. Having gotten passed the first trimester i now (thankfully) feel a LOT better, but am still struggling with being a large & pregnant.
My midwife has said that i could try to lose a bit of weight with her supervision but i've heard that under no circumstances should you lose weight intentionally when pregnant.
Any advice/suggestions?

 

[Lisa Marie]

Congratulations! Try not to worry too much, I was approx 17.5 stone when I was pregnant with my first child and at only 5ft 3in I was very plus size. I didn't develop diabetes and only actually gained 5lb throughout the whole pregnancy and my daughter was 7lb 3oz born. So I actually must have lost weight during the pregnancy. Personally I think your body knows it's limits and adjusts accordingly. Don't stress about it hun, enjoy your pregnacy, follow a healthy diet and I'm sure you'll be fine.

Take care

Lisa

 

[MsJMC]

I have been there girl , I feel for you , yes being over weight does do many things but won't harm the baby , you might get high blood pressure , which I did and passed out on the floor on my shopping bags , this woman gave me a dirty look as she passsed , bet she thought I was a drunk lol .Only thing now is maybe slimming world , think you might be able to follow that , ask someone to ask when they go to group meeting , just try hard to stick to it , high blood pressure will only end up in rest , really don't want that .
They might just give you more milk or cheese ? on the diet ?

 

[Bobwillbethin]

would think that if you are doing it under medical supervision it should be ok as you and baby will be monitoered

 

[doubledumplings]

my friend was overweight when she fell pregnant with her first baby and her midwife told her to do slimming world to help with the weight and she did great lost weight and had a health baby love it so much she kept going after her little boy and has lost 5 st in total.

go along to a class and talk to the people there im sure ull find it a very healthy eatting plan and easy to follow hun anyway good luck xx

 

[30FlirtyGirl]

I am doing SW and they are medically approved for pregnant woman. The midwife will monitor you and you should be fine. You should advise your leader as you get a few extra allowances with healthy extra etc.. Congratulations on your pregnancy hun xx

 

[Rayven]

Thanks everyone for all of your replies. *hugs*

 

[Bubbles77]

Hi, just wanted to say I was 16st 10lb when I fell pregnant with ds. The day I went in to be induced I was 17st 3lb The day I was allowed home after having him I was 15st 2lb It was the best diet I ever followed!

Just enjoy your pregnancy. Eat whatever you fancy, I listened to my cravings. They were fish, cheese, pears and cornflakes. I ate this most days and felt great.

My blood pressure remained perfect throughout the entire pregnany. The midwife said it was better than a 'perfect weight' patient! As your midwife said, your body must be very healthy as it is otherwise you wouldn't have conceived.

I am currently 16st 6lb but cannot get pregnant, I've been trying for 18 months. I have lost 8lbs so far (the past 2 weeks, not the past 18 months ) and actually started ovulating again, so I know my weight was affecting my fertility.

Anyway, sorry for rambling, I just wanted to share my story. Don't fret, enjoy your pregnancy!

Also, sorry to ask such a personal question, but did the sonographer make any comments about your size at your 12 week scan? At mine, they huffed and puffed until they got a picture. Then I later read in my notes they have put "difficult scan due to maternal build" It really upset me. I spoke to my midwife about it and she told me not to worry and that the sonographer was a trainee and that trainees put that on any woman over a size14? I thought she was making me feel better, but at my 20 week scan with the consultant I told him I was nervous because my size had affected the 12 week scan and he said it was nonsense, and that the sonographer was looking after herself by saying that, because she wasn't skilled enough to scan a larger lady she was covering her back in case she had missed anything during the scan! My friend, who was a size 22, went for her 12 week scan and nothing was even said to her!!!

Just wondered if it was just me, or if anyone else has had this?

Anyway, good luck with the rest of your pregnancy, sorry for babbling!

 

[mum_of_one]

Hi there

I was 19st when I got pregnant with my son. It was an accident as I thought I could not have children and along he came! Not that I am complaining as he is wonderful. Anyway I would have rathered be smaller but not much i could do. I ate healthy I would say till about the 8th month and for some reason had ridiculous sugar cravings and I put on in all about 2st which is more than I wanted to. I had high blood pressure at the very end of pregnancy and had a c section as he was a huge boy but I didnt have gestational diabetes. He was just a big baby.

Good luck

X

 

[sonkie]

Hi congratulations on your news........I was around the 18 stone mark when I got pregnant, put on about 2-3 stone, though not sure as they only weighed me at drs appointment. I should have had the ggtt but got away with it.

Hannah was 7lbs and half an ounce so not big.

The pregnancy was not comfortable, I had spd which made moving around painful, also backache......but she was worth it.

 

[30FlirtyGirl]

sonkie,

whats SPD ?

 

[Rayven]

Just wondered if it was just me, or if anyone else has had this?

Hey hun, I didn't have anyone say anything about me being big at the scan but i did have to squash down my flab (OMG how embarassing!) and she did have to push really hard to get any kind of picture. I was also quite worried that when i went to the midwife at 16 weeks we wouldn't be able to get to hear the heartbeat as i'm too big, but we didn't have any problems at all.
Sounds like whoever you had was really unprofessional and just wanted to cover up the fact they weren't very good at their job!

 

[Rayven]

whats SPD ?

Isn't it something to do with your pelvis? (i may be just shooting in the dark on that one! lol)

 

[Taronga Leela]

Firstly, congratulations on your pregnany, are you excited

sonkie,

whats SPD ?

SPD is synthesis pubis dysfunction 30 flirty. When you're pregnant you release a hormone which softens the ligaments in the body to allow baby through the pelvis and with SPD this makes the joints move a little bit more than they should resulting in pain. It's a pretty nasty disorder and can debilitate lots of women.

With your BMI, it's likely to affect your fetus and you aren't at any more risk of pre-eclampsia or high blood pressure than a woman with what is considered a 'normal' BMI. You should be monitored the same, but if you develop glucose iin yourr wee they will more than likely suggest you have a GTT. I had 2, but I'd also developed a craving for Frosties and used to eat a whole pack a day I didn't develop gestational diabetes though.

In my trust we monitor women with a BMI of over 30 because the oh so fantastic NICE guidelines say so, so we have to!

I had a horrendously high BMI when I was pregnant and being a midwife myself I thought I'd be treated differently but I wasn't!

Just remember every pregnancy is different, despite what you felt during your last two, it's unlikely you'd feel the same for this one even if you were slightly lighter!

Oh and I had the same huffing with the sonographer... and I worked with her

 

[30FlirtyGirl]

SPD is synthesis pubis dysfunction 30 flirty. When you're pregnant you release a hormone which softens the ligaments in the body to allow baby through the pelvis and with SPD this makes the joints move a little bit more than they should resulting in pain. It's a pretty nasty disorder and can debilitate lots of women.

Thanks for explaining that. I never knew about this xx

 

[sarahloveswelshcobs]

I started dieting whole heartedly towards the end of last year - but didnt start weighing until mid January. From mid January until First week in April, I lost 2.1/2 st and then found out I was pregnant !

I have kept eating healthily since and am now 27.1/2 weeks - so a bit ahead of you.

I actually asked to go and see the dietician and for the most part, I've been being very very good. I am definately finding I have water retention - some days I can be 5lb heavier than the day before and it REALLY annoys me when I get on the scales.

So far, I've put on 8lb and am now 17st6. :-( Still - I realise I'm going to have to put it on before I get it off.... but I WILL lose at least another 5 stone from where I left off within the next 12 months. I've promised myself !

8lb so far isnt the end of the earth really I suppose - though I guess it will start coming on quick now. My diet is very good if I say so myself and I've totally changed my eating patterns and habits for the long term. That said - I can't "hard" diet atm... but I will shift it.

So far, I measure 6" less across the hips than I did when I started measuring in January - and that's including a bit of bump. Across the waist, I'm currently an inch less than I was then too - despite a lot of expansion.

The clothes I wore back then, even though not maternity, still fall off. So - something to be thankfull for.

I was really bad from about 14 > 18 weeks with dizzyness / passing out etc and felt truly dreadful as well as so so so tired. I feel ok for the most part now - but I get frustrated as I find out my stamina isnt what it was a couple of months ago and by 9 / 10pm I'm usually feeling rather fat and uncomfortable

 

[Rayven]

Well, have had a cracking headache for the last couple of days so am feeling awful, although i have started feeling baby kick now so am really pleased, although the movements are still too small for my OH to feel so he's a bit disappointed. I think he thought that when i started feeling it, he'd feel it too. Have my 20 week scan next Friday which we're looking forward to, although we're still undecided as to whether to find out the sex of the baby or not. With Caitlin (my youngest) they told me she was a boy, so we were shocked when he turned out to be a 'she'! Would you find out??????
Anyway, am still weighing in at about 18 stone 5, although yesterday the scales were registering 18 stone 8! Which sent me into a state of panic as i really don't want to hit 19 stone, but i think it may be inevitable by the end of the pregnancy, although saying that my appetite is decreasing as the baby gets bigger which i'm sure will help control the weight gain. Am contemplating going on Cambridge after bubs is born but can't start that until 3 months after the birth, which means i may have to have a backup plan for the three months after the birth. With my first, we were soooo tired that we lived off takeaways and microwave meals which obviously didn't help the weight situation, & with my second i completely lost my appetite after giving birth so I was eating hardly anything which actually made me quite ill - so i need to have some kind of plan in place for when peanut is born.

 

[My~Turn~Now]

Im not sure if its already been mentioned but slimming world is approved by the royal college of midwives for use doring pregnancy and breast feeding. you are given extra calcium rich foods depending on which stage your at

 

[Fattyfattyboomboom]

Hello there, When I got pg with my DS, I was 17.5 stone...and actually got SPD and ended up gaining a ridiculous 7st....yep you read that right 7st. I have diabetes in my family and was lucky not to get it at all but had several tests to check. I had normal BP thoughout and had perfect iron levels. And my DS was born 7.4 lbs.

I am not 19.2st and just found out I am PG, I am hoping that as I am on SW and currently loosing weight that I should be ok.

Don't worry about being big. Honestly for me I had a great pg, and apart from the SPD I was fine. I had a few issues with my size during scans and a few made me feel bad, but in the end if they were nasty to me I complained about it. I was am in a happy time in my life and know How lucky I am to have my babies and will not allow ANYONE make me feel bad for my size. BTW it took us 8 years to have our first and 1 month of trying for this one. So weight I guess is not a real issue.

Good luck...and take care.

J

 

[saraian24]

I found with my second pregnancy i ate a lot more sensibly after gaining nearly 6 stone with my first child!

Slimming world defintely helped me keep my weight off when I was pregnant 2ns time around, so good luck ladies, sw is fab for when your pregnant and its great you can eata lot of free fod as well depending on what day your on xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx