Hi everyone! Well, I’ve received some reports about getting pregnant even when a woman is overweight and I decided to post part of the original text. Becoming pregnant while overweight may not be so easy, and it can require some extra care, as in the cases of readers Bianca and Pollyana, who had some issues during pregnancy. So, these testimonies serve as a warning—just be attentive to possible issues that may arise even if your health is fine, taking extra precautions doesn’t cost a thing and can detect any problems early. Thank you for your testimony, ladies!
Bianca Scapin
My first pregnancy was in 2009 after two and a half years of trying. I was overweight, and during that time I found out I had a blocked fallopian tube and took 3 cycles of Serophene. I was also on a diet and even lost a few pounds before getting pregnant, I think that helped a lot.
I couldn’t lose weight and didn’t use any contraception until I got pregnant again in 2012. My second pregnancy was high-risk, I needed to lose weight, and overall I didn’t gain weight during the 38 weeks. In the first pregnancy, I had gestational diabetes, which I managed with diet only. In the second, diabetes and high blood pressure were confirmed from the 8th week on, and I was hospitalized four times in total. My diabetes would become unbalanced, and even with medication my blood pressure would stay at 17 x 10. I used insulin three times a day.
Pollyanna Sanz
I weighed 127 kg and reached 131. I was taking birth control, but the doctor told me I had polycystic ovaries and wouldn’t get pregnant easily, so I didn’t need it. I stopped taking it and didn’t realize that the birth control had regulated my cycle, so I went back to ovulating normally. I felt a burning sensation in my nipple, a lot of tiredness, and severe cramps. I got tested thinking I had an infection and ended up discovering I was pregnant. I cried in despair because of my weight. I experienced all the typical symptoms of a normal pregnancy. But at three months, I had contractions followed by diarrhea and was hospitalized. I returned home. I had constant bleeding and had to take Dactil OB my entire pregnancy to keep the baby. My blood pressure kept rising; I was taking two medications and it was still high.
I also had gestational diabetes. They referred me to a cardiologist, because if my pressure didn’t drop, the doctor would have delivered the baby at 6 months, which put both our lives at risk. When I got to the cardiologist, my blood pressure was sky-high, and he told me not to take any more blood pressure medication that day and to return the next day so he could see how high it would get. At the time I was so desperate that that same night I went to an evangelical church, prayed a lot, and cried so much.
The next day my blood pressure was 13/9—I couldn’t believe it—and it stayed like that until the end (I started going to church), but today I am a Spiritist. The end was very calm, the doctor scheduled a cesarean at 39 weeks. My ex-husband told me that before I entered the operating room the doctor warned him that the worst could happen. But everything went wonderfully. In 2003 I had stomach reduction surgery. In 2009 I got pregnant with my daughter (now 4 years old), and because of my history I was referred to the high-risk pregnancy team at Unimed. But thank God, nothing happened, and I gained only 1 kg during her pregnancy. She was also born by cesarean, at 38 weeks.
The important thing, as I said before, is to pay attention to any abnormal symptoms, keep a healthy diet, and watch your salt and bad fats during pregnancy—it can really help. However, these reports only serve as a warning for women to be alert to the risks in order for everything to turn out well in the end.
Kisses, see you next time!
Also see: Fertility – How to Get Pregnant While Overweight
Photo: carmen_seaby
