Leading obstetrician warns one in six pregnant women are obese

One in six expectant mothers are obese, while one in 50 are morbidly obese, according to leading obstetrician.

Just under 2%, or 150 pregnant women at the Coombe Hospital last year were morbidly obese, with a body mass index of over 40.

Although the figures refer to the Dublin hospital, Professor Michael Turner of the UCD Centre for Human Reproduction said they reflect a nationwide trend of worrying obesity among the country’s pregnant women.

“One in six women attending our antenatal clinic are obese and one in 50 are morbidly obese. The figures for the Coombe, which are very accurate, are close to the national rate,” said the professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital.

“We are having difficulty finding beds and wheelchairs that are big enough for morbidly obese women. One is six dads are obese as well.

“The demands on the maternity services have gone up because cases are more complicated.”

With the majority of Irish hospitals reporting a growing level of obesity Prof Turner, who spearheads research on maternal obesity in UCD, said there is a need for specialised equipment and facilities such as extra wide wheelchairs, examination couches and beds, along with hoists and special delivery beds in Irish maternity units.

He said: “In the (Coombe) hospital we have had to get special equipment. We have 150 women coming through every year now who are morbidly obese. It’s a body mass index of greater than 40, where obese is greater than 30.”

He said the obesity has a greater impact on the mother than the baby during pregnancy and birth.

“The impact on the baby is overestimated and the impact on the mother is underestimated,” he said.

“It is the impact on the mother we are more concerned about. Women who are obese are twice as likely to need a Caesarean section. It is technically far more difficult, particularly if they are morbidly obese.

“Obese women are more likely to have labour induced; they are more likely to have a Caesarean section; they are more likely to have hypertension; they are more likely to have infection, venous thromboembolism.

“Because of all these complications the average length of stay for obese women is longer and they are more likely to need drugs to treat the complications. The health care costs are increased.”

He also pointed out that obese women had a greater risk of having babies with neural tube defects such as spina bifida.