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Pregnancy Weight Loss Help: Blog
Pregnancy Obesity Related to Quality of Life and Sleepiness
Pre-pregnancy Obesity is associated with a lower quality of life and sleepiness later in the third trimester. The reasons are not clear, but findings could be associated with less ability to move about or experiencing more medical problems associated with pregnancy obesity.
Pregnancy Obesity
In a paper published recently, women who were obese at the start of pregnancy were found to be more likely to be sleepy.
The combination of obesity and sleepiness may not be good for the pregnant woman or baby.
To read more about how obesity at start of pregnancy influences the rest of pregnancy go here:
Pregnancy Obesity Related to Quality of Life and Sleepiness
excerpt:
To know the relationship between daytime sleepiness and quality of life during pregnancy according to the weight gain and baseline weight.
We studied 216 pregnant women (108 obese and 108 non-obese).
Weight gain and mental component of quality of life (MCS-12) in both trimesters were lower in the obese group, whereas ESS was higher.
Obesity at the beginning of pregnancy but not weight gain was related to low quality of life and daytime sleepiness at the third trimester of gestation.
Strategies for pregnancy fitness and for limiting pregnancy weight gain depend on normal weight before pregnancy and increased activity during pregnancy. This is why the finding that obesity at the start of pregnancy is an important pointer to potential pregnancy problems.
It is important then to advise women accordingly about pregnancy fitness and weight management if they found to be overweight and obese at the time of booking.
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Assessing Pre-school Child Obesity Risk Formula
The concern of overweight and obesity in children is global. Rates of Child obesity have been rising over the decades and even young children are increasingly identified as affected.
Identifying a child at risk of obesity with the view of providing support to the child and family, at the earliest time possible, is essential if we have a chance of reversing this epidemic.
Yet, identifying children at risk of obesity has not been easy until now! Nascimento and colleagues have discovered a formula for identifying pre-school children at risk of obesity. To read more about how children can be identified with a high degree of accuracy - go here:
Assessing Pre-school Child Obesity Risk Formula
Excerpt:
Ratio of weight to height gain: a useful tool for identifying children at risk of becoming overweight or obese at preschool age.
The weight values and body mass indices of the children were transformed into a z-score per the standard method described by the World Health Organization.
The prevalence of excess weight was 28.8%, and the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 8.8%.
Regardless of weight or length at birth, the mean ratio between the weight gain per g/cm of height growth from birth presented a strong correlation with the body mass index of preschool children. These results suggest that this ratio may be a good indicator of the risk of excess weight and obesity in preschool-aged children.
Overweight and obesity are chronic long term problems, involving several body systems. Childhood obesity is on the rise across the globe – some countries more affected than others.
It is important that a strategy is identified that identifies children at risk of obesity at the earliest opportunity. The new formula dependent on weight gain and height of child does identify pre-school children.
Identifying children at such an early age is very significant because then there is hope that corrective measures including advice to family can have maximum impact.
This is one of the most significant developments in public health medicine in a long time. The strategy of advising women to lose weight after pregnancy could be associated with advising them about obesity in their offspring – for maximum impact.
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Weight Gain in Pregnancy – Support Helps
There is more evidence that women who get support to manage their lifestyle gain less pregnancy weight. 
Obese pregnant women are more likely to gain weight during pregnancy more than normal weight counterpart women.
Limiting weight gain during pregnancy is associated with less pregnancy and fetal complications.
It is for this reason that the Institute of Medicine issued guidelines advising women and health care professionals on target pregnancy weight gain levels.
Weight Loss Surgery And The Contraception Message
Contraception message following bariatric weight loss surgery may not be getting through.
Obese women are advised to lose weight before pregnancy and those who cannot are undergoing bariatric surgery in order to achieve safe weight loss before they embark on a pregnancy.
Advice about losing weight before pregnancy is important because it enables the woman concerned to get healthier and fitter.
Although there are risks of weight loss surgery, the benefits far outweigh the risks in most cases. However women should not embark on pregnancy soon after bariatric surgery because the first 12 months are associated with significant metabolic disturbance associated with rapid weight loss.
A recent study showing that a significant minority of women are not observing the advice to use contraception and avoid pregnancy in the first 12 months is concerning.
New Pregnancy Weight Gain Guidelines: Confused?
In 2009, the Institute Of Medicine published its latest guidelines and advice regarding weight gain during pregnancy.
Pregnancy Obesity
The guidelines were necessary and based on published evidence that excessive weight gain is associated with unfavourable pregnancy outcomes, including pregnancy related diabetes, blood pressure and fetal problems.
The guidelines advised lower pregnancy weight gain limits for highly obese women and healthcare professionals have used the guidance to care for their patients.
The latest study by Einerson and colleagues examined the value of the guidelines in a group of 691 women. There was no evidence that women who gained the most weight were at any particular disadvantage.
To read more about this paper about outcomes of pregnancy for the various pregnancy weight gain groups go here:
New Pregnancy Weight Gain Guidelines: Confused?
excerpt:
New gestational weight gain guidelines: an observational study of pregnancy outcomes in obese women.
In 2009, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) revised their pregnancy weight gain guidelines, recommending gestational weight gain of 11-20 pounds for women with prepregnancy BMI >30 kg/m(2).
Despite showing no evidence of other benefits, our data suggest that obese women who gain weight according to new IOM guidelines are no more likely to have low birth weight infants.
In the absence of national consensus on appropriate gestational weight gain guidelines, our data provide useful data for clinicians when providing evidence-based weight gain goals for their obese patients.
Although the results of this study may appear contradictory, note that in relative terms, this is a small study lacking the power to reveal true results comparable to evidence that has been collected over many years relating to pregnancy weight gain and obesity.
It would be inadvisable to assume that it is well and good to gain excess weight during pregnancy. At the same time, it becomes essential to design larger studies to determine what levels of weight gain for individual obesity groups during pregnancy.
Do you think advice on weight gain during pregnancy is useful or confusing? Leave your comments here and share with your friends.
Maternal Weight Associated With Lower Breast Feeding Rates
Breast feeding is crucial for the newborns as they establish their feeding and gain vital initial immunity from the mother and bonding. 
The rates of breast feeding in Developed Countries is very low compared to other countries. There are various reasons for low rates of breast feeding but these are subtle and most likely social and cultural.
In this paper Guelinckx and colleagues report their finding on how maternal obesity affects breast feeding. They site various reasons including insufficient milk and sucking problems.
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Tagged breast feeding, breastfeeding, low rates of breast feeding, maternal obesity
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Exercise in Pregnancy – Not Popular
Exercise in Pregnancy though highly beneficial and is recommended, it is not that popular among pregnant women.
Pregnancy Exercise
The benefits of exercise in pregnancy include fitness and control of weight gain. Women who are fit tend not to gain too much weight and are less likely to have caesarean and other complications.
The latest assessment of how popular pregnancy exercise is shows a lot of anxiety and reluctance. The reasons are varied, according to the latest study recently published.
If you want to know how pregnant women view exercise in pregnancy go here:
Exercise in Pregnancy – Not Popular
Excerpt:
Though exercise during pregnancy has proven benefits for healthy women, many still fear it, according to a new study.
In her study of 90 women, she found many regular exercisers stopped working out when they became pregnant. Some told her they did not think exercising, even walking, was safe during pregnancy.
“I was really surprised,” she tells WebMD. Hague presented her findings this week at the annual meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) in San Diego.
After becoming pregnant, less than 27% did. “They said they were afraid they were going to hurt the baby,” Hague says.
Exercise in pregnancy is not harmful. By exercise, it does not mean a woman has to go to the gym or do very strenuous exercises. Walking has been proven to improve fitness and control weight gain during pregnancy.
So why are pregnant women so fearful of exercising during pregnancy?
Women think exercising might harm the baby, cause miscarriage or pain. That is untrue. If concerned see advice and support. The benefits of exercise in pregnancy offers and delivers many benefits.
What do you think of this finding about exercise during pregnancy? Please leave your views here and share with your friends
Pregnancy After 40: Improve Outcome By A Healthier Weight
Pregnancy outcomes are influenced by many factors including social economic status, age, maternal obesity and past obstetric history.
Pregnancy After 40
In older women, particularly those aged above 40, there are many challenges. There is hope though. According the recently published study, women who conceive after 40 experience better outcomes with lower body mass index (BMI).
Breastfeeding, Bottle feeding and Infant Weight Gain
Breast feeding is highly recommended as the first form of newborn feeding for several health and bonding reasons.
One of the key undesirable consequences of bottle feeding is infant and child obesity. The reasons for obesity are thought to be due to high energy intake to the baby, though this can be regulated.
This paper by Li and colleagues has concluded that causes of obesity after bottle feeding are multi-factorial and include the pattern of feeding.
Nutrition, Excessive Pregnancy Weight Gain – Impact on Children
Healthy nutrition and excessive pregnancy weight gain are shown again to have a significant long term effect on the well being of children.
Pregnancy Obesity
This finding following examination of evidence published over decades confirms this relationship. Pregnancy obesity has a long lasting impact on children, leading to obesity in the offspring across generations.