Obesity in Pregnancy Increases Complications

Overweight women are at an increased risk for several pregnancy complications for both mom and baby. For the moms, these include miscarriage, high blood pressure during pregnancy, diabetes during pregnancy. For the babies, complications include higher risk for birth defects, stillbirth and fetal macrosomia (a condition in which the baby is significantly larger than normal often leading to the need for cesarean section delivery and health complications for the baby). Because of these complications, the need for cesarean section deliveries increases. Among overweight women, complications from cesarean sections are more common and include excessive blood loss, long hours in surgery and post-operative infections. Thus, it is recommended that overweight women who are considering pregnancy try to lose some weight and see their doctor before trying to conceive.
Excess weight gain during the pregnancy can be associated with similar risks, and too little weight gain during pregnancy can also cause serious problems for the baby. Therefore, the Institute of Medicine recommends that pregnant women follow these guidelines for weight gain. Throughout the pregnancy, normal weight women should gain 25 to 35 pounds. Overweight women should gain 15 to 25 pounds, and obese women should gain no more than 15 pounds.