Trying to Conceive When Overweight

silverchick
silverchick Posts: 42 Member
in Motivation and Support
Looking for advice from women who have kids or are trying to conceive.

I am 29 years old and currently 5'4" and around 230 pounds. I've been trying to lose weight since I was about 12 years old and my weight has yo-yo'ed a lot in the last few years.

I just got married last year and we are hoping to have our first baby soon. Ideally, I'd like to lose some weight first but my husband doesn't want to wait any longer (we've been together 9 years!) He's 31 and doesn't want to be too much older before having his first baby. I do want to be healthier and fit before getting pregnant but I don't want to wait another year or more to HOPEFULLY lose the 90+ popunds I'd need to be at a healthy weight.

Any advice? Try for a baby anyway? Focus on losing weight while still trying for a baby? Wait until I'm at a healthy range?

Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • jenmom2myboys
    jenmom2myboys Posts: 311 Member
    I think that is a question for your Doctor. You say you want to lose weight but don't want to wait a year so it seems you have already made your mind up. I am sure there are possible health complications but once again I would ask your Doctor and get his/her opinion.
  • fheppy
    fheppy Posts: 64 Member
    if you want baby now then try now. while trying, you can try to lose weight as well, and when you are pregnant you might need to follow restricted diet as well so you won't gain. Talk to you doctor too but I'm pretty sure he will advise you to lose weight and get within healthy range because encouraging being healthy won't hurt you.
  • loubidy
    loubidy Posts: 440 Member
    Realistically the healthy range is quite a tough goal. I would say try and lose some weight first just because of the health risks and complications being far higher at your weight. Don't make your goal too hard though that you'll give up easily. I recommend you get a professional opinion though just to be safe.

    Good luck with your weight loss and good luck conceiving when the time comes :)
  • cholepapi
    cholepapi Posts: 79
    My sister is a big gal about 400 and she had three kids like that all C section....she got pregnant diabetes (something like that... Don't know the right term) but other than that she was fine.......Her sister in law didn't do good as she is 5 3 at 300 & can't conceive.....now my friend is not abese and can't have any children.....it's all about your body, what it can handle and what your doctor says......
  • crazyqueencarla
    crazyqueencarla Posts: 38 Member
    Speaking from personal experience, I would say try to lose a bit of weight before trying to conceive. My husband and I tried when I was around 275-250lbs (I'm 5'3). We were able to get pregnant right away, but I had an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy and lost the baby. My obgyn felt that my weight played a large role in that my fallopian tubes and uterus were somewhat oddly positioned due to fat pressing on them.
    I lost some weight, ( I was 250), we tried again and had a hard time conceiving. When we did, I lost the baby once again due to some severe hormonal issues, which again... my doctor felt were weight related.

    Now, I'm not saying these things will happen to you, plenty of overweight and obese people go on to have many successful pregnancies. But, if I knew what I know now about how body fat and weight can affect your ability to have healthy children... I would have gotten myself in better health a long time ago.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    This is a question for your doctor.
  • HappyBlues
    HappyBlues Posts: 94 Member
    Clearly like everyone has said, ask your doctor. Don't just assume that because you are overweight that you'll be told to wait. I was 5'7 and 240 pounds when I conceived my first. That was with the blessing of my OB/GYN and fertility medication at that! It took me three years to conceive my first. I wanted to lose weight first too, but really I just focused on eating healthier choices. My starting weight with all three of my pregnancies was about 250 and I never had a single health complication during pregnancy.

    Good luck! :)
  • silverchick
    silverchick Posts: 42 Member
    I do realize that this is something I should discuss with my doctor, I was just hoping to hear about other's personal experiences with it. Thanks :)
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,148 Member
    When I was pregnant, I was 184# at 5'2", 21 y/o. No problem getting pregnant and, aside from an emergency Caesarian (my pelvic bones were too narrow, so not me being too fat), no problems. My OB/GYN told me many times I should lose and/or not bother to gain any weight.

    As PP said, talk to your doctor and find out how your weight can affect your pregnancy.
  • jgross1789
    jgross1789 Posts: 7 Member
    I would continue to try to lose weight while we were trying. For 1 you never know how long it will take to get pregnant. I had a friend who got pregnant when she was trying to lose weight. She continued to eat healthy and work out and she lost weight during the beginning of the pregnancy. She actually only put on 5 lbs the entire pregnancy because of her healthy lifestyle change. The baby was born at a healthy weight and she had almost no weight to lose.

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