Mothers and obesity

Americans have grown fatter over the last generation, resulting in more heart disease, diabetes and premature deaths. All that extra weight has complicated what happens in the maternity ward to mothers and their new babies.
About one in five women are obese when they become pregnant, meaning they have a body mass index of at least 3o, as would a 5-foot-5 woman weighing 180 pounds, according to researchers with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Medical evidence also suggests that obesity might be contributing to record-high rates of Caesarean sections and leading to more birth defects and deaths for mothers and babies.
Hospitals, especially in poor neighborhoods, have been forced to adjust to a changing reality. They are buying longer surgical instruments, more sophisticated fetal testing machines and bigger beds. They are holding sensitivity training for staff members and counseling women about losing weight, or even having bariatric surgery, before they become pregnant.
Studies have shown that babies born to obese women are nearly three times as likely to die within the first month of birth than women of normal weight, and that obese women are almost twice as likely to have a stillbirth. About two out of three maternal deaths in New York State from 2003 to 2005 were associated with maternal obesity, according to the state-sponsored Safe Motherhood Initiative, which is analyzing more recent data. Obese women are also more likely to have high blood pressure diabetes, anesthesia complications, hemorrhage, blood clots and strokes during pregnancy and childbirth, data shows.
Our medical and healthcare systems are trying to adjust to this situation, at great expense to the providers as well as great expense to those suffering with obesity. Obviously, the short term answer is to provide the best care possible to those mothers and babies who are dealing with obesity. But wouldn’t the best health care strategy be to educate our friends and relatives about the true cost of neglecting our bodies by unhealthy eating habits as well as the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle? It’s hard to say no, but I don’t see much being done. If we are truly concerned about healthcare, we should have a “Marshall Plan” centered on our national wellness situation.

LouAnn Good
Fitness Together Fort Myers