Yo-Yo Dieting Bad For Pregnant Mums
Experts say that being too fat or thin puts mother and baby at risk.Mothers who gain or even lose a lot of weight between pregnancies could be putting their baby at risk. Research published in the British Medical Journal, suggests that fluctuating weight can increase the risk of high blood pressure and diabetes in the mother and the chance of stillbirth. Pregnancy is "one of the most nutritionally demanding periods of a woman's life" and women need to be aware of the implications of weight.
Jennifer Walsh, a specialist registrar in obstetrics and gynaecology at Coombe Women's Hospital, Dublin, and Deirdre Murphy, professor of obstetrics at Trinity College, University of Dublin compiled the report. The Dublin specialists said women were faced with mixed messages about diet, weight and body image, which were extending into pregnancy. Obesity? Size Zero? Women think constantly about both issues.
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"Pregnancy is one of the most nutritionally demanding periods of a woman's life, with an adequate supply of nutrients essential to support foetal wellbeing and growth. Women are at an increased risk of different but equally serious adverse pregnancy outcomes if they gain or lose an excessive amount of weight between pregnancies."
The researchers commented on two different studies. The first, from Sweden and involving 207,534 women, found that weight gain between pregnancies was strongly associated with major complications for the woman and baby in the months preceding, during and just after childbirth. The second report found that women whose weight fell significantly between pregnancies had a higher risk of giving birth prematurely than women whose weight remained stable or increased.
Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said: "Women should be aiming for a normal weight before they have their second child. But this research also shows that women also go the other way and starve themselves to plummet to a goal weight. That is also wrong."
He said young girls should be taught the importance of maintaining a healthy weight, not only for their own physical wellbeing but also for that of any children they may want to have in the future.
"There is a known association between overweight and obese parents and the likelihood of a child being overweight themselves," he added.
July 2007
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