Why Your Weight is Important When Trying to Have a Baby?

When couples are trying to get pregnant there are many factors that must be considered. Most couples are aware of things such as diet, exercise, smoking and drinking, but rarely do couples take their own personal weight into consideration. Your physical appearance, regarding weight, is an important factor to consider when trying to get pregnant.

Weight and Fertility

When trying to have a baby, your weight could be effecting your fertility. Research has shown that being overweight can lead to fertility issues, such as:

• Irregular periods
• no period
• imbalance of reproductive hormones

Disturbed estrogen and insulin production can make fertility an issue in women who are overweight.
When both partners are overweight, your chances of getting pregnant are even less than if only one partner was overweight. In the book "Making Babies: A Proven 3-Month Program for Maximum Fertility," Dr. Sami David says that couples in which both partners are overweight are three times more likely not to be pregnant after a year of trying than couples of normal weight.

Weight and Pregnancy

Becoming pregnant when overweight can lead to a whole series of health risks. There is so much more than most people think about. The many complications of being overweight and pregnant are as follows:

• Increased chance of miscarriage
• Increased chance of still birth
• Blood pressure issues including preeclampsia
• Complications during labor and delivery, especially if the baby is too large.

Some of these issues could also lead to early labor and could be life threatening. So it is important to consider your weight before having a baby so that you don't have experience heartache that you are capable of rectifying.

Weight and the Baby

Usually babies born to overweight mothers are generally healthy. However, there can be an increased chance of complications with your baby if conceived while overweight. These complications include:

• Possible birth defects
• Preterm birth
• Larger than normal birth weight
• Death of infant after birth
• Childhood obesity

Though rare, these are real issues to consider when trying to conceive. No woman wants to put their unborn child at risk over something they could control.

What can you do?

When you are overweight and wanting to get pregnant you will want to start with a visit to your obstetrician. Making a plan for getting pregnant and discussing your weight with your obstetrician prior to getting pregnant can increase your chances of success. Also once pregnancy is confirmed, it is important to get immediate prenatal care so that your weight as well as blood pressure and the baby can be monitored closely. Woman who are overweight do not need to gain as much weight during pregnancy as a woman of regular weight. Monitoring your diet and getting regular exercise is the best step you can take when pregnant.
So when trying to get pregnant it is important that you take your weight into consideration. If you have a BMI of over 25 then you might want to consider losing a few pounds before conceiving. Taking care of weight issues before you are even pregnant will help to improve your chances of a successful fertilization as well as pregnancy and birth. Give your pregnancy the best chance you can by taking care of yourself even before you are pregnant.