Sunday 3 July 2011

How to Eat in Pregnancy

I am a fat person. I’ve been a fat person for a long time. I have lost weight, a lot of weight, in the past, and have put most of it back on. The reasons are complex, but are simple too. I eat too much and move too little. I am working on it, but it's hard.

I’m hoping, over the coming months, to do some blogs for Tommy’s [Lets Talk Baby]. I love Tommy’s for many reasons, but most of all, because they conduct amazing research into the causes of prematurity, and they help to ensure hundreds upon thousands of babies are born safe and sound. Chances are, if you live in the UK, and have had or helped to make a baby, you have benefited from Tommy’s research and literature.

I had hoped that I would lose weight before I fell pregnant. I was working on it when I fell pregnant. Once pregnant I was determined to have a healthy pregnancy. I maintained a healthy diet, I exercised sensibly and I did what I could. However I got pre-eclampsia, which is a life threatening condition for both the mother and the baby. 

Importantly though, thin and fat women and every woman in between can get pre-eclampsia. However being obese is certainly a risk factor, and is one of the reasons I won’t be getting pregnant again. By the time I lost the weight, my age would be such that it would negate any of the benefits of being a healthy weight.

When Joseph was born, all the doctors commented on how well he was. One of the doctors asked in detail what I’d eaten in pregnancy and how much I exercised. He said I had saved Joseph’s life by taking action the way I did (no one ever blamed my obesity on the pre-eclampsia, and in fact the consultant in charge of my case said it was my body type rather than weight, that was a contributory factor)

I recently ordered “Managing Your Weight in Pregnancy” from Tommy’s. It’s a really good, non-judgemental guide to managing your weight whilst pregnant. It doesn’t use the term obesity, it uses large or larger (which I actually dislike, apparently their panel thought obesity offensive whereas I think of it as a clinical term).

It’s very practical and it informs us how to make changes to help our body in pregnancy. One of the quotes I loved was “cravings are not always unhealthy”. In my pregnancy I craved fruit and salad (and also vinegar and pickles) I went completely off chocolate. It made me feel physically ill and repulsed.

Although geared at those of us who have a high BMI, the booklet really could be a resource for any pregnant woman. It addressed the “eating for two myth” and offers concrete suggestions for food swaps, and for safe exercise in pregnancy.

For the record, when I weighed in the day of my caesarean section, I was the same weight as booking. The following fortnight I was a whopping 5 kilos lighter. I had been holding a lot of fluid, and had, effectively, lost weight in my pregnancy. 

And although I was so desperately ill in pregnancy, I had never felt so healthy, and had a strong desire to be healthy for my baby. I am looking forward to continuing on, and being a healthy and happy mum, with a healthy weight.

Tommy's resources for pregnant women are available to order, usually free of charge, from their website. They also have a midwife phoneline 0800 0147 800 to discuss any concerns you may have. 

3 comments:

  1. Great post. I'm a big fan of healthy eating but also a huge fan of sweet food. My wife ate and exercised during pregnancy and sometimes we wonder whether we overdid the exercise? Or perhaps sushi was a bad idea? We still don't know why Felix came early and guess we never will.

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  2. Great post. I'm a big fan of healthy eating but also a huge fan of sweet food. My wife ate and exercised during pregnancy and sometimes we wonder whether we overdid the exercise? Or perhaps sushi was a bad idea? We still don't know why Felix came early and guess we never will.

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  3. Do you know, sushi in the UK is considered safe in pregnancy? The issue with sushi is that there is a little parasitic worm that can live in the fish, so if its fresh landed sushi it can be risky. Here its treated first by snap freezing. I think a lot of preemie birth is just sheer bad luck. In my case Joseph was preemie because I had pre eclampsia. I might still have got it if I'd been slim, as its down to body chemistry and the relationship the mother has with the placenta, but it may have been caused by me being obese.

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