How do overweight and obesity affect pregnancy?

Women who are overweight or obese are at higher risk of complications during pregnancy. Gaining too much weight during pregnancy increases the risk of gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia and birth defects. However, if you manage your weight well during pregnancy, you can prevent these risks. Content reviewed by Dr Le Pham Anh Vy, Specialist Level I, Head of the Nutrition Department, American International Hospital (AIH).

How do overweight and obesity affect pregnancy?

• Overweight or obesity means the mum's body mass index before pregnancy (BMI: >25
• Being overweight or obese during pregnancy can affect both mum and baby, increasing the risk of some serious health problems:

For the mum:

• Higher risk of high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia
• Higher risk of gestational diabetes
• Risk of sleep apnoea.

For the baby:

• Birth defects: Babies born to obese women are at higher risk of birth defects, such as heart defects and neural tube defects (NTDs).

• Diagnostic tests by ultrasound are harder: a thick abdominal wall can make ultrasound diagnosis difficult. Monitoring the baby's heart rate during labour is also much harder for obese mums-to-be.
• An overly large baby: This increases the risk of the baby being injured during birth (shoulder dystocia). Very large newborns are at greater risk of obesity later in life.
• Premature birth
• Stillbirth

So obesity does have certain effects on pregnancy. That is why it is best for mums-to-be to plan to lose weight early to avoid being obese during pregnancy!

References:

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists