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A Weighty Issue

Trying to Conceive When You're Clinically Overweight

By Shel Franco

36-26-36

Those numbers might not mean a thing to you, but for many women, they are the hallmark of western society's obsession with weight. Everywhere you look, scantily-clothed women with well-defined midriffs are smiling back from TVs, magazines and billboards. The advertising world wants you to believe that these women have it all. They are beautiful, they are wealthy and they are happier than you. While most people would say that's certainly not true, a growing number of women are left wondering: Do I have to be thin to have it all?

Nowhere is the question more pondered than when contemplating motherhood. In a perfect world, all women would neatly fit into obstetrical guidelines for healthy conception weights. In reality, many women are tens of pounds overweight. And for some, that number stretches into the hundreds. Is the concern simply cosmetic, or are there real emotional and physical health risks associated with conceiving when you're overweight?

"Women who are overweight are at risk of having an excessively large fetus, which can lead to an increased risk of needing a C-section [which can be more complicated in heavier women] or a traumatic delivery which could injure both Mother and Baby," says Dr. Stephen T. Chasen, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York, N.Y. "[Overweight women] are also at increased risk for developing diabetes of pregnancy. Diabetes of pregnancy is also associated with excessive fetal growth, as well as metabolic problems like low blood sugar and jaundice in the newborn. Very heavy women also tend to be less active, which is a real risk factor for developing venous thrombosis, which is a blood clot in the lower extremities that can travel to the lungs and be life-threatening."

Before a woman even gets to pregnancy, her weight can cause problems. "I do not ovulate without medication," says Kathy Thompson of Buffalo, N.Y. "My doctor says that weight could be a factor."

Want to see more?

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• Making Sense of PCOS
• Talk about it!