38,000 UK pregnant women are severely obese, reveals study
According to a recent study around 5 per cent of all pregnant women in the UK are dangerously obese, consequently putting the health of both themselves and their babies at risk.
Researchers have found that severely obese mothers stand double the risk of stillbirth and overweight mothers also stand a higher risk of blood clots, high blood pressure and bleeding after birth.
The study itself involved experts from the Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries (CMACE) looking into the Body Mass Index (BMI) of pregnant women as well as collecting information from every maternity unit in the country.
Dr Kate Fitzsimons, lead researcher for the project, commented on the importance of knowing how many obese pregnant women there are as this way proper care schemes can begin to be implemented for those who are not receiving the correct care.
The study actually found that a large majority of maternity units do not have the provisions needed to care for very overweight women. Many maternity units have reported a lack of extra-wide wheelchairs, examination couches, trolleys and beds, and only half of obese pregnant women were offered treatment to prevent life threatening blood clots at their first antenatal appointment.
Tim Draycott, a consultant obstetrician at St. Michael’s Hospital in Bristol has seen some of these problems occurring first hand.
“Up until very recently our Caesarean operating table only had a weight limit of 150 kilos (just over 23 and a half stone). He said.
Recommendations from the report include better advice, care and support for women before they get pregnant, as well as better screening for existing medical conditions and possible complications.
Finding the motivation and inner strength to lose weight is difficult at the best of times, let alone when your hormones are doing back flips throughout a pregnancy. It is really important for both ourselves and our babies that we stay healthy and well nourished throughout this time, and maintaining a healthy weight plays a huge factor in this. If you are concerned about your weight and would like to find out about how a hypnotherapist could help you to take back control of your eating habits then you can view our online fact-sheet here.
December 7th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
This is not surprising but still the growing numbers of mothers who are obese are growing. But we have to also accept the fact that why they become obese is the fact that they sould also eat well to provide the nourishment of their babies.. Thanks for the post!!