Obese, pregnant and needing help
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat. Being large because of pregnancy is natural. Being obese before becoming pregnant is trouble. Researchers say obese pregnant women are more likely to have complicated pregnancies, and need more health care, including more time in the hospital. The study in the New England Journal of Medicine says obese women more commonly needed Caesareans or other treatments. These include more ultrasounds, more medications – and more visits with doctors, as opposed to nurses or midwives. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Susan Chu: ``Every health care measure that we looked at was increased with increasing weight of the mother.’’ (6 seconds) Chu also says women who are obese during pregnancy have a higher risk of pregnancy-related diabetes, which might lead to long-term diabetes. Learn more at hhs.gov. HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss. Last revised: June, 09 2008 | 
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