Thanks for posting your website. I struggled with infertility – and am pregnant at 240 pounds (almost 6 months) through invetro. I am overweight and struggle with how bad I look. It’s nice to read I am not alone. Being over 200 pounds – was your pregnancy affected?
No it didn’t I’ve had three pregnancies (still pregnant with the third. Two vaginal births (one epidural, one all natural)
I started my first pregnancy at 212 pounds and was somewhere around 270 when I delivered. In hindsight, it was a horrible pregnancy because of the weight. I had a horrible time with my sugars and bloodpressure, which lead me to an unnecessary c-section. I am now pregnant with #2, started this pregnancy off in the 150’s and have had a perfect pregnancy so far. I am about 3 weeks from my due date and am just now hitting my prepregnancy weight with my first child. Anyhow, losing the weight (via Weight Watchers) was the BEST thing I ever did for myself!
I was 211 when I got pregnant and had no problems during my pregnancy from the weight. I was 241 when I gave birth. I’m now 3 months PP and am almost back (5 pounds left) to my pre-preg weight. Good Luck and don’t worry about your weight! :-)
I was 254 lbs when I became pregnant last spring after 2 years of trying. I can honestly say, thanks to a wonderful care provider, that my pregnancy wasn’t really affected by my weight. I did have gestational diabetes, but that is not because of the weight, nor was my hyperemesis gravidarum. You may gain weight differently than other pregnant women, or not gain; as long as your doctor is comfortable with this and the baby is thriving, it is ok. I left the hospital 15 lbs under my weight at my first prenatal appointment.
Congratulations on your pregnancy. Enjoy this time, it flies by. Take lots of pictures, no matter how you feel about your body now. A few months postpartum you will miss the bump and how you looked. It is nice to look back.
I weighed nearly 300 with each of my pregnancies, and had not a single complication due to my weight. The only thing that bothered me is that I didn’t have a nice round belly till the very end!
I was over 200lbs when I got pregnant with each of my three babes. I was about 240 for each delivery. My weight did not seem to affect my pregnancy, as all were healthy babes, and my pregnancies considered normal by my practitioners. I handled labor and delivery quite beautifully and recovered nicely. I nursed my babies and lost the vast majority of the weight in the in the first 6 weeks with all of them. In my opinion, it is not the weight that is the problem, but any underlying health conditions that you may have. HTH!
I was 256 pounds when I became pregnant (without help) with twins.
My pregnancy was high risk because of multiples, but not weight.
Just eat healthy and walk when you can. You’ll be okay.
I weighed 255 when I became pregnant. There were some issues, but no health problems for me or the baby.
I struggled with body image because no one could tell I was pregnant for the longest time (I posted on here about that when i was 28 weeks along). Even now that I am 38 weeks along, no one mentions anything about me being pregnant without first saying “I don’t mean to offend you, but are you pregnant?”.
Also, I had to work a bit with my health care providers. They were very accepting of my size, which is an important place to start. During my prenatal visits they always used a larger size blood pressure cuff, which is extremely important because at this size a normal cuff will fit but may have great errors in reading your blood pressure. Accurate readings of blood pressure are essential during pregnancy.
Another thing is that when I went in for my ultrasound at 18 weeks, they could not see the baby’s spine because of my size and the baby’s position. We came back in at 23 weeks and they saw what they needed to. I might suggest waiting until past 20 weeks so the baby’s a bit bigger during that first ultrasound.
A really good website that helped me tremendously has been http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org. There’s a lot of good, sensible information on that website.
The last thing I’ll mention is that I feel like I adjusted really well to being pregnant. For one thing, being big is normal to me. I’m nearing the end of my pregnancy, and I still don’t feel all uncomfortable and stretched out the way many women I know say they feel at this time.
At 38 weeks, I now weigh 260 pounds. I have never “eaten for two”, but have tried extremely hard to stick to raw or steamed veggies, lean meats, and complex carbs. I’ve also forced myself to go on walks a few times a week. All this has helped me to gain an appropriate amount of weight for my size.
It was always hard to eat right and exercise, but I found that having the baby inside me has given me huge motivation to do as well as I can at these things.
We larger women can (and usually do) have perfectly normal pregnancies and healthy babies. Best of luck to you!
I was over 200 with all 3 of my pregnancies 2 singletons and twins… and had no complications. I carried them all to term or overdue and never had high blood pressure or any other problems. The only time they really worried about my weight was when they were getting me ready for a c section and then it was just to get the meds right. Just eat as best as you can and try to stay active if possible. Walking is great!
Congratulations and best of luck!
I grew huge babies each time (and am working on another) but otherwise, not affected. I felt better with my subsequent pregnancies than with my first, and I was not overweight when I had my first (I think I was about 140 when she was conceived.)
I did not have issues with high blood pressure or diabetes and did not need a c-section despite having 10 pound babies.
I think it mostly depends on your health before pregnancy, not necessarily your weight.
I’m a plus size mama, over 200 lbs for all of my pregnancies. As a plus size mom, we’re at higher risk of some complications and our c-section risk is extremely high. There are care providers who believe fat women can’t birth naturally and that just isn’t true. I’ve had 3 normal, healthy pregnancies, that resulted in normal, healthy, average sized babies that I birthed vaginally (one of them at home!). I’m currently 16 weeks pregnant with #4 and planning another home birth. Find a
I was 222 when I fell pregnant with my surprise baby. I had been told we wouldn’t be able to conceive without infertility help of some kind, but we were blessed. I dropped to 208 with severe morning sickness and at the end of the pregnancy was 247lbs. I had normal pregnancy with no complications and an all natural vaginal planned homebirth. Totally possible.
I was 230 when I got pregnant with my first baby (6 yrs old now, eep), I lost a ton in the first 20 weeks, gained some back, and after delivery I was 211. I gained it all back plus 10 lbs by the time i had my second baby (october of 07), and I am now 225. I got the traditional baby bump, I carry all in front. After delivery I was still fat, but it was softer and jiggily, and still is to this day. I have a belly flap, which I never had before I was pregnant. It sucks, but I just ignore it for the most part.
Congrats on the pregnancy!! Infertility is a real bitch, we struggled for a few years, finally concieving naturally.
I was about 220 when I got PG, 250 at delivery (and why didn’t the weight fall off??).
I also struggled with IF for several years, and had a miracle conception while trying to adopt. I had a perfectly normal, completely healthy pregnancy. My DD was born at 37 wks, 8 pounds 3 oz (induced).
Yes, my body image is down the tubes, but most days I’m so thankful for my DD, I don’t care.
Stretch marks and all – worth it for my precious girl, and doubly so given our previous struggles.
I don’t know if email address is posted with the comment, but feel free to email me if you would like some encouragement!
I was about 260 when I became pregnant with my first child. I did end up with gestational diabetes. Of course, I was more prone to it being overweight (and a family history of diabetes), but even if you are not overweight you can get GD. I ate very healthy and ended up losing weight while pregnant. My son did end up with pneumonia, but that had nothing to do with my weight. A few weeks after delivering, I was at 218 pounds!! Unfortunately, I gained it all back and when my son turned one, I was diagnosed with type II diabetes. I now have a second son and was overweight and diabetic while pregnant….he was perfectly healthy!!
Hi! I was pregnant at over 300 lbs. It was a healthy, uneventful pregnancy, despite all of the thoughts otherwise. My midwife just assumed I’d have GD or Toxemia. But through positive thinking, and good diet, my kiddo was born perfect and my pregnancy was one of the view times I’ve ever felt “normal” in my whole life!
Congrats!
I was 209 when I got pregnant with my son and was about 270 when he was born 6 weeks ago. My pregnancy was affected but not in any way a risk to the baby. I didn’t have gestational diabetes and my blood pressure was great. But I felt the additional weight alot more once I got pregnant and found that I tired out alot easier during labour with my son than with my daughter’s birth (I was not overweight when I was pregnant with her). I do hope to get as close to my ideal weight as possible before concieving again but if not, I’m not too fussed as I had a healthy baby regardless of my weight.
I am 4’11” and I was almost 200 lbs when I became pregnant with my daughter. I was well over 200 when she was born 6 weeks early. Her prematurity had NOTHING do to with my weight. She was healthy and was able to come home within 5 days!!!
Good Luck and I agree, eat healthy, and you’ll be wonderful!
I ended up at 220 lbs after my 1st and when I got pg with my 2nd I started at 200 going to 235 lbs.
Most likely you will be check a couple of times for diabetes. My OB was always a weight stickler, so she rode my butt the whole time to stay healthy.
Eat good foods, fruits and veggies, limit sugars and you’ll be fine. Also try to stay active by going for walks and if you have access, light swimming or water arobic.
Best of luck and congrats!
i became pregnant at 245 and got up to 306 but was still walking up to 4 miles a day, working, cleaning, mowing the yard. i had bad swelling but as long as you KEEP MOVING then i think it really cuts down your risk. also drink lots of water and remember fruits and vegetables. take control of the things you can control now, you can’t go back and start your pregnancy at a lower weight. take care of yourself and your baby now! best wishes and god bless.
I was 215 when I got pregnant and lost 6lbs the first trimester due to morning sickness. Last I checked I was around 230 but I’ve since stopped watching when they weigh me. I’m having a wonderfully healthy pregnancy with no complications so far- I’m 29 weeks. Aside from one extra test for GD (the first was fine, the second I have done on Tuesday and I suspect it will be fine too) my doctors have been fully supportive of me and my pregnancy and I have no reason not to believe that I won’t have a normal, healthy labor and delivery with a normal healthy baby boy as well. Good luck to you! Enjoy your pregnancy and the sweet baby it will bring!
I’m 5’10” and was around 230 before my first pregnancy, around 240 with my second, and 245 with my 3rd. All 3 were healthy, fairly easy pregnancies. I have high blood pressure that is controlled with medication, and my dosage never needed to be increased while pregnant. I did have pre-e with my first, but it’s more common with first pregnancies anyway. I carried them to 39 weeks (induced pre-e), 40weeks 3days (induced because late), and 40 weeks (went into labor on my own on my due date and had her in 4 hours!).
The only thing I think my weight affected was my legs and hips. I was in alot of pain by about 25-30 weeks and it only got worse. My body just doesn’t like to carry over 250lbs. I got close to 290 with my last one and I felt pretty miserable. Immediately after I had her, my legs and hips stopped hurting. BUT, I’ve heard plenty of little, thin people complain of pain while pregnant too, so I think it boils down to what our bodies are used to and what they can handle. Eat healthy, walk, and enjoy your pregnancy!! You can worry about weight loss later. To feel better about how you look, try to find pants and shirts that make you look more pregnant. Empire waists help. I also found that wearing the full panel maternity pants helped my belly look more smooth and pregnant, than trying to wear sutff that cut into my stomach in weird places and made bumps and rolls. When I’m not pregnant I hate my stomach, but when I’m pregnant I love that I get to dress up a part of me that I usually hate!
I started out as 178 when I got pregnant. I am now 6 months and my weight goes from 208 to 211. I too am worried about complications and how I’m going to loose the weight after. This blog is amazing and all of you ladies are as well for making this depressing pregnancy day better with your answers.
Hello Ladies!
I dont know if this is the right place to ask for some advice but I just need some help. I am 29 i just found out that that I am pregnant with a man that I’ve been seeing since December 2016 and it is now and of the March 2017. When I told him about it he immediately told me to do abortion I told him this is my choice and that I need time to think this through. After a few days I decided that I will keep the baby and I let him know them through the telephone he got very mad and started yelling at me and telling me how can you bring a child to a world that would not have a father and how could you bring a child to a world that has big chances of being bipolar as the father of the baby. After all the yelling he said he is coming to my apartment he was very furious so I left my apartment because I thought he might hurt me just so I can miscarriage my baby. I left my apartment to my sister in law and after a few hours we came back to my apartment and my door was broken I called the police and reported that he did it I also tried to get a restraining order but my case suppose he wasn’t serious enough in order for me to get protection. I just don’t know what to do obviously seems crazy I make $39,000 a year and I’m just not sure if I can do this all by myself financially my insurance wouldn’t cover all the doctor visits and hospital and I know that he would try to either hurt me or do something really bad if I would try to get the child support. I just really don’t know what to do I really really don’t want to do abortion I want this baby very much and I am so mad at myself that I got myself into this position at this age. I really just don’t know if I can handle it by myself and still have to worry about him if he will call my after me if he’ll find out that I had this baby? Should I try to get the child support? Because otherwise I dont think I can make it. Please help me with anything any advice I really just don’t know what to do.