Overweight and pregnant – lead to a problematic pregnancy

A pregnant woman should have an ideal weight to have complications free pregnancy. Both underweight, as well as overweight, can cause several complications for mother or baby. If you are obese or overweight during pregnancy, you are expected to have following complications.

1.      Gestational diabetes

Women who are overweight or obese have four times more risk to develop gestational diabetes than women with normal weight. Such women need a C-section delivery and are likely to deliver large babies who are more prone to develop congenital disabilities.

2.      Preeclampsia

Women who have an extremely high BMI are at a risk of preeclampsia or high blood pressure. This condition can increase the chances of premature birth, stroke or blood clots.

3.      Infection

Obese women are at higher risk of getting infections during pregnancy and also after the delivery.

4.      Obstructive sleep apnea

Obesity usually leads to sleep apnea in most of the cases. Pregnancy intensifies this problem in overweight women.

5.      Labor problems

Overweight women usually need a stimulation to kick start labor. It can also meddle with an epidural block, making the whole labor experience a nightmare.

6.      Miscarriage

Risks of miscarriage can go up in overweight women. So are the chances of stillbirths.

7.      Higher chances of cesarean

Obese women generally have less muscle tone in the midsection, and therefore they have less strength which is not sufficient to push out the babies. Also, the extra fats accumulated within the birth canal make the push more difficult for the baby to slide out.

8.      Higher chances of birth defects

Babies delivered by obese and overweight women have a greater risk of developing spina bifida than those delivered by normal weight women. Also, the risk of hydrocephalus in the babies increases by 60%, heart defect by 30% and cleft lip by 20%.