Obesity in York County: Couple fights to conceive

Stop the fat from having kids.

Maternal obesity during pregnancy is associated with complications including:

--- Cesarean delivery -- A delivery surgery in which a baby is taken out through the mother's abdomen. In the United States, about one in four women have babies this way. Most C-sections are done when unexpected problems happen during delivery. The surgery is relatively safe but could cause problems with an attempted vaginal birth later.

--- Macrosomia -- Large body size, often used to describe a fetus. The most common cause of macrosomia is diabetes in the mother. Macrosomia can lead to trauma during birth and a greater chance of a Cesarean delivery.

--- Gestational hypertension -- High blood pressure during pregnancy can cause low birth weight or premature delivery of the baby.

--- Preeclampsia -- A sudden increase in blood pressure after the 20th week of pregnancy that can be life-threatening for mother and baby.

--- Gestational diabetes mellitus -- A type of diabetes that is first diagnosed in a pregnant woman. Usually gestational diabetes goes away after pregnancy, but sometimes diabetes doesn't. If not controlled before and during pregnancy, type 1 and type 2 diabetes can cause the baby to have birth defects and cause the mother to have problems such as high blood pressure, kidney disease, nerve damage, heart disease or blindness.

--- Fetal death

--- Birth defects

--- Other problems -- Children born to obese mothers are twice as likely to be obese and to develop type 2 diabetes later in life. Obesity during pregnancy is also associated with greater use of health care services and longer hospital stays.

Source: www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth

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