I'm feeling sensitive and need to let it out - pregnancy

noodles86

Thank you to everyone that has replied made me feel better. I have always been a 'little' overweight since I had my first daughter which I have been completely aware of so I do know I need to look after myself but since I found out I was pregnant again I have watched what I have eaten, eating a better diet & started swimming. The 86kg is the same as I was 14 weeks ago so haven't put anything on. I have generally got from midwives is a bmi of 31?! I would have thought less but you are tall! I think it was just seeing it wrote down was horrifying and upsetting!

scottishchick27

I'm the same height as you, 23 weeks pregnant with a bmi of 32. My midwife has been ok about it apart from saying I may need to see a consultant and also I'll have a glucose test at 28 weeks. I wouldn't worry too much about it, what do they expect you to do about it now? It's not as if you can go on a diet! As another poster said, woman a lot heavier have had healthy babies. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy xx

ognum

mildred1978 wrote: »

How rude!

The OP probably isn't actually overweight. You can't tell from a number alone!

Not intended to be rude at all. with a BMI of 31 she is actually obese but that is not the point I am making.

I am simply suggesting that despite having a BMI of 31 she could manage the amount of weight she puts on during pregnancy.

Surely it is better to turn a negative into a positive. The problem is people like you apparently don't want to know the truth they consider it rude rather than factual.

Mojisola

noodles86 wrote: »

I am 5'6 and weigh 86kg size 14 and 20 weeks pregnant.

ognum wrote: »

the question is do you want the truth or not?

yes it probably is hurtful for you to know you are obese but you can actually do something about it while you are pregnant. Many people manage to maintain the weight they are rather than putting on weight while pregnant.

Someone who is 5' 6" and wearing size 14 clothes is not obese!

mildred1978

ognum wrote: »

Not intended to be rude at all. with a BMI of 31 she is actually obese but that is not the point I am making.

I am simply suggesting that despite having a BMI of 31 she could manage the amount of weight she puts on during pregnancy.

Surely it is better to turn a negative into a positive. The problem is people like you apparently don't want to know the truth they consider it rude rather than factual.

A BMI means f@ck all, in real terms. An Olympic boxer would have a BMI in the high 40s. Are they morbidly obese?!

Mojisola

Person_one wrote: »

'Obese' isn't really something you can argue with, its worked out in a very specific and very clear way.

No, BMI figures are worked out on very specific figures. Whether the sums that result are worth anything is disputed by many people!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/health/treatments/healthy_living/your_weight/whatis_bmi.shtml
"Although BMI gives us some idea of the health risk associated with being a certain weight for your height, it's just an approximate means of assessing body fat and risk to health. It doesn't allow for weight from muscle - for example if you're an athlete or very muscular you will have a high BMI even if you have a healthy level of body fat. It's also not accurate for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, the very young or very old, the extremes of the normal range of shape, nor does it allow for medical conditions which affect height or shape."

Person_one

Well, that's what I meant, but the classifications of overweight, obese etc. are based on BMI.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/BodyMassIndex.aspx

"BMI of 30 or more: a BMI above 30 is classified as obese"

Good point about it not being accurate for pregnant women though, I assumed the OP was referring to her pre-pregnancy weight for some reason.

mountainofdebt

Its well known that basing someone's level of health on BMI alone is a load of horse manure - based on BMI many rugby players for example would be classed as obese.

sweaty_betty

OP - you have my sympathies, I think it's out of order for health professionals to come out with this when on the other hand people are being told NOT to diet when pregnant as this can restrict the nutrition going to the baby. It just doesn't sound very helpful to me at this point in time.

FWIW I've been told by someone who does the ultrasounds that the majority of the time the woman's weight makes absolutely no difference to the quality of information they can see on screen - and anyone half decent at their job wouldn't use that as an excuse... Don't know if it's true but it made me feel better!

Nicki

mildred1978 wrote: »

Awwwww, hon. My BMI was (I think) 34 when I was having my son - at least 10 of that was due to my boobs (which have always been huge). I was a size 12-14 everywhere else!

Had a couple of midwives tut at me, and tell me I was lucky I wasn't put under consultant led care. Sonographers had no problems. 1 midwife did comment that she "couldn't understand it" even though my boobs got into the room about 2 minutes before the rest of me. :rotfl:

BMI is a ridiculous measurement with little purpose - most athletes come up as morbidly obese!

That is one of the most hysterical excuses for being overweight Ive ever heard. I am slightly taller than average (5'6") and to have a BMI of 34, I'd have to be 55lbs heavier than the top of my ideal range of weights. Now I am well endowed in the breast department too (an E cup) but there is no way each breast of mine weights 27.5lbs or the equivalent of two and a half large bags of potatoes (each!)

BMI is one measure of health, and is best used in conjunction with one or more others such as waist hip ratio, body fat percentage and aerobic capacity. Yes, some athletes may have a high BMI due to having a lot of muscle development, but their other measurements tend to be good. Just about everyone else who is not a skilled athlete if they have a high BMI will weigh too much for their health.

I am the same height as OP, and when I am a size 14 in clothes, then yes I am obese, not just overweight. My BMI in that size of clothing will be around 30 and my waist hip ratio will be around 0.89.

As for not dieting in pregnancy, whilst it is true that you should not embark on a crash diet, it is not true that you should continue with unhealthy eating habits just because you are pregnant. Health professionals can and will offer advice on how many calories you should be eating at each stage of the pregnancy and good and bad food choices. This might well be less than OP is eating now, and may lead to her maintaining her current weight or even losing a small amount during the pregnancy without impacting on the baby in any way.

Consultant led care is expensive and the NHS is not renowned for flashing it's cash around when it doesn't need to. Women with high BMIs are not referred for consultant led care as some form of ritual humiliation or punishment, but because being obese or worse does carry increased risks for both mum and baby. I don't think it does anyone any favours to pretend differently.