How Being Overweight During Pregnancy Can Affect Your Baby

It’s something that you don’t normally think about, but being overweight during pregnancy can cause some significant problems. If you are somebody who was overweight to begin with, then you might already be at risk for certain health problems. This is why doctors suggest that you try to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight range when you try to get pregnant in the first place. If you go into pregnancy overweight or gain too much weight during the pregnancy, it can cause complications and unnecessary risks for both you and your baby. So working through these difficulties may be wise for both of you!

When you are overweight during pregnancy, you are first and foremost putting too much stress on your body. This is very taxing on the joints and the body as a whole. Carrying around all of the extra weight becomes a huge chore for the body and takes away from its main focus, which should be maintaining a healthy pregnancy. You will find that you get tired more easily, you are short of breath, you likely have backaches, and your whole body can hurt. This suffering is the body reacting negatively to your extra weight. A healthy pregnancy becomes harder when the burden of extra weight is placed on the body.

A Healthy Weight Range Can Protect You and Your Baby

When you are overweight during pregnancy, you also put yourself at a higher risk for certain health conditions. You may well develop diabetes during pregnancy. This is a condition that may go away afterward, or it may become a regular part of your health moving forward. You may develop high cholesterol, and you may even develop high blood pressure. This is an even bigger problem during pregnancy because high blood pressure can turn into pre-eclampsia, which is highly dangerous to the unborn baby. When you are overweight to begin with, these are real possibilities and risks. When they come about during pregnancy, then there could be damage to your body or to the baby directly.

Being overweight during pregnancy can also cause some serious complications throughout. You may have a preterm baby if your health suffers or if the body can’t handle the pregnancy. You may have complications with the baby, including during delivery. Your baby can suffer and so, too, can your long-term health, and that’s why you really need to be mindful of your health and weight range. Eating right and getting moderate exercise during pregnancy is a wise idea. This can help you to be your best and also ensure that you protect your health during pregnancy so that you can give your baby everything that it needs throughout.