High bmi

[Jkirkbright]

I've gone from weighing 82kg when I found out I was pregnant to to now being 36 weeks pregnant and weighing 107kg with a height of 170cm I now have a high bmi, only being told this upon doing my birth plan with a midwife. She has told me I have to go to the consultant lead labour ward at Queen Alexandra hospital in Portsmouth to have my baby.
This has worried me a bit why can't I have my baby on a maternity lead unit..

Did anyone else have high bmi? Did it complicate your labour? Did you have to stay in longer? Any help would be great I just don't know what to expect xx

 

[Dawnlouise30]

My bmi was high when i first fell pregnant so it was clearly higher when i had him. My birth was ok. It was complicated but not due to my BMI. I needed constant monitoring due to being induced (induced because he was late), so needed to be on my back on the bed. Isaac was back to back so that position was quite painful for me (but the gas and air was great at helping that). Also being on your back restricts how much your pelvis opens (so i believe) and Isaac was 10lbs 7 so getting him out in this position was hard. I laboured well but needed episiotomy and forceps to get him out but this was purely due to his size and not mine.

I coped with the labour, was not too tired etc.

I don't believe my size affected my labour and delivery.

My waters were broke friday afternoon at 3:30pm, i was in established labour by 5pm and isaac was born at 2:45am on the saturday. They were all set to send me home saturday afternoon but i chose to stay another night to establsh breastfeeding. We went home at 3pm sunday afternoon (but we were ready in the morning, just had to wait hours for our discharge papers and my medication to take home.

 

[bluerose783]

Yeh some hospitals consider high bmi a higher risk. I'm a big lass, luckily going to have my bubs at a major public hospital anyway.

 

[Nibeley]

I have a high bmi and back issues and saw a consultant yesterday but she was fine and said they would do nothing different in terms of my bmi, but would be careful regarding my back issues. I have to see an anesthetist on wednesday to check everything's ok. I am having her in a normal hospital

Good luck x

 

[minnieoxox]

They never weighed me when I was pregnant. But I went from 9 stone to 12 and a half stone and which would have put me with a really high bmi for 5ft 1. But surley bmi doesn't count when your carrying a baby and all the water and extra weight you put on!!

 

[Amygdala]

Where I am they go by your bmi at the 8 week booking appointment. Like Minnie said, surely your bmi at 36 weeks doesn't mean anything?
Were you planning on giving birth elsewhere? If so, I'd speak to them again. I don't think they can make you go to a consultant led unit, can they? I started with similar height/weight as you last time and had an unmedicated water birth, attended by midwives. At no point in that pregnancy was I consultant led. But I was in a hospital anyway, maybe that made a difference?
Anyway, if you're not happy with this path, question it!

 

[dollyemi]

I have a high bmi so I knew from the start I would be consultant led and I'm over 35 too. I needed 2 extra scans at 28 and 34 weeks to measure baby, saw the anaesthetist who pointed out the risks of anaesthesia with higher bmi. But my birth was completely normal with a perfect, healthy little girl (weigh 7pound 4 o i didnt have a giant!) and easy labour so don't let the bmi police scare you!!

 

[berniegroves]

I wanted a home birth with my first but they weighed me on my due date and freaked about my weight gain!! They still agreed to the home birth but set me a meeting with a consultant.
I went into labour before the appointment and they refused me a home birth. So I ended up in hospital. It was fine, no complications.

If you speak to them I would ask to see the evidence the shows BMI affects labour.
I know it can effect pregnancy causing diabetes etc. but I can't find any evidence of it causing complications in labour itself.
You can give birth where you want. I wish I had fought them on it, but bring in labour meant I just didn't have the energy for arguing!
Hope it works out for you
X

 

[9jawife]

My bmi is high..I don't remember exactly but I'm 210# on a 5'5" frame so not a small girl. but my OB hasn't said anything. Health is excellent...that's what matters as far as Im concerned.

 

[Caroline:-)]

When I had ds 19 months ago my BMI was 35 (the same as this time) and I was never weighed apart from @ my 12 week booking appointment the same as everyone else. I was never weighed again, my weight never even mentioned and I was midwife-led. However, this short time later and they now have a rule that if you have a BMI if 35 or above you have to be consultant-led. I have been so upset about this as I am desperate for a water birth because of my spd. It's what I was planning last time too, but I went 2 weeks over so had to be induced . But anyway, they will thankfully do reviews here, and finally on Monday I got signed back over to midwife-led!!!! Sooo happy! Basically a while back they did all the checks at a BMI clinic to see if there were any risks because of my weight, or anything that would be difficult, etc... That was all perfectly fine, and I'd had no complications at all, and of course had delivered ok with my last baby, so they said as long as I kept my weight gain to a minimum and baby's growth was normal, I could go midwife-led. So Monday I had a growth scan - baby's size is fine - estimated at 7lb! And my weight gain has only been about 7.5 kilo (god knows how when I'm pretty much immobile due to spd and gave been eating too much chocolate!!!). So yeah, all good for me now but is shows that you can fight for what you want! At least I was able to here - I know it varies so much from place to place though. Also though, I think it's very strange that they're judging your BMI NOW... Here they just go on whatever your BMI is at 12 weeks... Tbh, they wouldn't even weigh you again here so they'd never know!!!
With regard to labour with a high BMI... I don't think it affected me at all last time. I didn't have the best time due to being induced but I don't think my weight affected it - I actually think I (& my body!) coped very well! I was induced and got to around 7cm without even getting gas & air (wasn't even offered it - got completely ignored tbh and left strapped to a monitor on my back in bed ( which was a nightmare for me with spd) when my waters broke & they couldn't ignore me anymore I went to delivery & got gas & air but then labour stopped progressing do they had to put me on the syntocinon drip - and advised me to have an epidural (due to the drip making the pain way worse), which I agreed to in the end. I also had bad tearing of urethra/labia & internal. It was quite a long hard labour, but that was down to induction and being stuck on my back rather than my weight. I really wouldn't worry Hun... You'll be fine - but do fight the decision if it matters to you x

 

[MumOfPlenty]

I've a BMI of 40 and am consultant led, after being weighed at booking in. My midwife said if I could get under 40 before my next appointment I could stay midwife led - needless to say, it didn't happen

Had my consultant appointment last week. I have to have an anaesthetic review (in case of complications and potentially needing an epidural I assume?), i have a gtt test coming up at 28 weeks, (no history of diabetes, ever) and i have to see the consultant again at 36 weeks. so not too involved, but maybe that was my attitude with the consultant..

Ive already had (unrelated) surgery this pregnancy, and im on baby number 6 with no previous pregnancy or delivery problems. I said in another post though that i have got blood transfusion papers in my notes, which is quite scary but apparently once you go over 4 or 5 babies (depending where you are) they consider you high risk for haemmorraghing.

 

[Kitty1979]

This really pisses me off! At my 12 wk appointment I was weighed and had a high BMI was told dr at hospital may want to see me but to try to keep a healthy diet and some light excerise but not to worry. Midwife was lovely about it. Then I went to hospital and they made me feel like a freak for having a high BMI said I'd need to see a consultant and were really horrible about it. It worried me so much until my next midwife appointment when I explained how scared, worried and upset I was and my midwife was so supportive said its not high BMI which they should be worried about but high blood pressure. My blood pressure was perfect for my whole pregnancy.

Of course we should all try to keep a healthy weight, stay in shape but the way the hospital made me feel was horrible. I had a great pregnancy, loved it and no complications with labour at all. Please don't let it worry you too much and as my midwife said to me try to keep healthy but have a bit of chocolate if you fancy but just not every day!

 

[ayh78]

I'm confused as to why they are weighing you now?! My BMI at booking in was in the 'overweight' range (somewhere between 25-30), which I think is the same as yours was. I was concerned beforehand that this would reduce my options, but the midwife assured me that they don't worry unless it is 35+. I didn't think BMI was relevant for (heavily) pregnant women? Do they think you're having a big baby? I'd want more info, but if it's your first, then maybe they are just being overly cautious. I did gain a good amount of weight with DD and had no complications whatsoever with pregnancy, labour or birth, so I'd try not to worry.