Obesity epidemic spreads to pregnant women
July 17, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Women's Health
Did you know that one in five women in the United States who are pregnant is obese? They’re not overweight, they’re obese. In fact, according to an article in the New York Times, women who weigh as much as 400 lbs and more are giving birth.
Before anyone considers issues like this as obese-bashing, it’s really important to understand the health risks of being so heavy in the first place. Then, add pregnancy to it and now there’s not a health risk for just mom, but for baby too. Obese women require more medical attention, can develop more health issues (such as gestational diabetes and hypertension) and can have a higher risk of having a child with neural tube defects (like spina bifida) or other problems.
You can read more about this in this article: Too Fat and Pregnant.
