More than 38,000 pregnant women in the UK are obese.
This equates to 5% of all pregnant women putting themselves and their babies at risk. A woman is twice as likely to suffer a stillbirth if she is severely obese. Very overweight mothers also have a greater risk of high blood pressure, blood clots and bleeding after birth.
For the first time, researchers looked at pregnant women's Body Mass Index (BMI) and collected information from every maternity unit in the country. Researchers for the Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries (CMACE) found many maternity units were not set up to care for very overweight women.
Dr Kate Fitzsimons, lead researcher for the project, says it is important to know how many obese pregnant women there are. "It matters because the risk of complications and adverse outcomes increases with increasing BMI.We need to know how best to manage these complications and reduce the risk during pregnancy because the problems don't just affect the mother; they also affect the baby."
The health risks to very overweight pregnant women are well known, but this study found that many are not getting the kind of care they need. While there is an increased risk of life threatening blood clots, only about half of obese pregnant women were offered treatment to prevent this at their first antenatal appointment.
Maternity units also sometimes struggle to cater for very overweight mothers with a lack of extra-wide wheelchairs, examination couches, trolleys and beds.
The report says women need better advice, care and support before they get pregnant, as well as better screening for existing medical conditions and possible complications. The general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, Cathy Warwick, said the findings backed up their own research. "There is no doubt that being obese and pregnant can leave women open to more problems in pregnancy than non-obese women. However, with high quality care these problems can be identified and treated and women can have a very positive experience of pregnancy and birth."
December 2010 | 
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