Pregnancy in Obese Women - Are You At Risk?

By Dr. Pradeep Chowbey in Bariatric Surgery / Metabolic

Nov 16 , 2020 | 1 min read

Do you know that obesity increases the risk of PCOD (Polycystic Ovarian Disease) by 2.25 times in women with Body Index more than 30?

What is the Exact Reason for infertility?

PCOS is actually one of the major risk factors for infertility, and obese women are three times more likely to be infertile as compared to women with a normal body mass index.

It is not surprising to know that both men and women can suffer from infertility primarily due to genetic, environment or factors related to lifestyle. Besides this, the most common and documented risk factor causing infertility is “Obesity”.

Obesity is a reason for excess insulin production and an infertility condition known as PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). It is a medical condition that is associated with irregular menstrual cycles, decreased or stopped ovulation, obesity and high levels of male hormones. If you want to know more about PCOS or PCOD you can read the differences between PCOD vs PCOS.

It is a known fact that obese women take a longer time to conceive and when they conceive there is a higher risk of pregnancy complications such as miscarriage, diabetes, and premature birth. The chances of LSCS are also higher putting the mother and baby both at risk.

What can Obesity do to your body?

Obesity can cause serious disorders like:

Menstrual irregularities
Difficulty in conceiving
Absence of ovulation
Low response to fertility treatments
Increased chances of miscarriage
Prenatal complications
Overproduction of insulin that can lead to irregular ovulation

Will weight loss surgery help in Pregnancy?

Women look forward to weight loss surgery to increase their chances of conceiving. Pregnancies that happen after weight loss surgeries have higher neonatal outcomes like: