Obesity in Pregnancy Weighs Heavily on Healthcare Services

The costs of calving.

"Pregnant women who were overweight were more likely to use all levels of healthcare services -- from prenatal testing, to Caesarean section, to phone calls -- than normal-weight women, a study found.

Among pregnant women in a large U.S. group-practice HMO, those who were overweight or obese before pregnancy had higher rates of gestational diabetes, pre-existing diabetes, and hypertensive disorders, Susan Y. Chu, Ph.D., of the CDC here, and colleagues, reported in the April 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

As a result, the researchers said, these women made greater use of healthcare services, had significantly longer hospital stays, and had higher rates of prenatal testing, outpatient medications, telephone calls, and prenatal visits than did normal-weight women.

Obesity during pregnancy is now a common high-risk obstetrical condition affecting about one woman in five who give birth in the U.S., the researchers said."

And this problem posed by these big women is how big?

"According to a recent estimate, the researchers said, about 22% of pregnant women in nine states are obese. This can be extrapolated to indicate that of the four million U.S. births each year, approximately one million involve obese women.

'Thus even a small increase in the cost of heath care associated with obesity will have substantial economic implications,' they concluded."

All this wasted moo-lah depriving the rest of us.

Fight back.