The Issue of Pregnancy

Niiiiiiice...especially this comment from the first article: Although most doctors would never recommend dieting during pregnancy, Artal says he has no qualms about counseling overweight patients to eat less. "For them, less could still be the diet of another person for a whole week," he says. yes, because we fatties eat huge sides of beef every day, just for breakfast. This whole topic just sticks in my craw because I am dying to be a mother but I also want a home birth and it is VERY hard to find a midwife in Atlanta, much less a fat-friendly midwife who will actually work with me. I know from everything I have read that even the increased risk of complication that arises from being fat and pregnant (even 400 lbs like me) is very small and still very unlikely, but I guess I'm afraid of getting pregnant and then being forced into a c-section because everyone has this preconceived notion that a fat woman can't push out a baby...*sigh*

The C-section statistics frustrate me because many C-sections are discretionary. I've read that some doctors will perform a C-section if a perfectly normal birth is taking "too long" -- especially here in Canada where doctors are paid a fixed price for a birth no matter how long they spend there. Statistics saying fat women have C-sections more often can be self-fulfilling prophecies -- doctors giving fat women unnecessary C-sections because they perceive fat women as requiring them more.

That AP article really got me. It's typical of the sort of infantilizing way the medical community likes to treat pregnant women, though - and it's extra-offensive when coupled with the "it's not a diet... it's a whole new way of eating" attitude.

The part of the AP article that really chapped my hide was the quotation from the doctor that basically said, "Well, we have to get to these fatties before they get pregnant because otherwise they'll pass of their fatty habits to their presumably ginormous offspring." I had a perfectly healthy, wonderful pregnancy with an OB who could have cared less about my weight. She talked to me about everything but assured me that my risks were no worse than anyone else's, as long as I kept on eating healthy and exercising, which I did throughout (and before) pregnancy. But when i had to see anyone else (doctors at the hospital, etc.) I was automatically looked at as one huge risk factor. I always had to laugh when they would take my blood pressure and it was 110/65--they would usually take it again to make sure that it was right, because how could such a huge cow have low-to-normal blood pressure?!? And I'll challenge anyone--skinny or fat--to give birth naturally in a non-English-speaking foreign country to a breech baby with no drugs. ;) Somehow I think my fat body can handle something as routine as pregnancy if I managed to get through that.

This is a topic seriously near and dear to this heart - my husband and I are trying to conceive. I was just diagnosed with diabetes and elevated blood pressure because I wanted to get checked out before trying. I am leaving my primary care doctor as soon as things are settled and I am on whatever medication I am going to need. You see, my diet has been quite restricted this month, and my blood sugar hasn't gotten any better. I am sure she will jump for joy that I've lost 10 lbs, though. *sarcasm* ANYWAY - the reason I am leaving her is that when I told her I wanted to get pregnant she LITERALLY started YELLING at me, saying I would be on bedrest the whole time, I would need a C-section, that I would have fertility problems, etc. Unfortunately I was so shocked by her behavior that I started crying and didn't yell back. Once I am settled with meds and have time to wait for an initial appointment with another doctor, I am going to let her know exactly why I am leaving: her unprofessional and reactionary behavior. It is good to see positive birth stories from you other women. It gives me some hope. :)

when i went to an endo for my diabetes and told her i wanted insulin rather than pills because i wanted to get pregnant, she told me that since I was only in my mid-30s I should wait a few years to get pregnant and get WLS first. (I ended up deciding not to have kids.)

Hmph. Another correlation/causality nut. Since PCOS is my particular "nut," I'll dive in: plenty of fat women have PCOS, and this makes it harder both to conceive and to carry a pregnancy to full term. But I'll betcha they didn't bother to control for this factor. Why bother, when everybody knows Fat Bad? And the words of some of the MDs quoted here are making me start to believe that while you don't have to be a blithering idiot to be a doctor, it probably helps.

I have had 2 pregnancies at my 300 lb weight...both resulting in perfectly healthy boys who are the light of my life. I had no complications during my pregnancies, other than marginal placenta previa which has NOTHING to do with weight and extremely wonderful OB-GYNs. Never was my weight an issue...tho I definatly had to have my BP taken more than once because it "isn't supposed to be that low" while I was in the hospital. Both of my pregnancies ended in a c-section due to failure to progress (read: 24 hours of labour after have your water break with only 6 cm dilated), and again, never once was my weight questioned...I even ASKED the Dr, because my mom launched into the "If you had lost weight you wouldn't be here now" speech and the Dr responded by saying, that's a myth. All women are built the same inside and that's what matters...I just wasn't meant to have my kids come out any way other than the sun-roof. However...I DID have large kids...8lbs 6 oz and 10 lbs 6 oz, but I am not diabetic and I LOST weight during both of my pregnancies while denying myself nothing. And the final word on C-sections in my opinion is...are your kids healthy and alive? then it was worth it. But that's a totally different rant! :)

I'm leaving aside PCOS in this... I'm fat. I was fat and healthy when I got pregnant the first time and had a text book pregnancy. Ended up with a c-section, that I think was in part failure=to=wait and in part fat phobia from my midwife, who was the backup of the one I'd chosen. But. Fat women do get c-sections more often. I have a theory as to why... we've been told all our lives that our bodies are broken. As soon as the OB says "we are abit slow here today, aren't we?" it confirms our opinion that our bodies just dn't work like eveyrone elses. One thing I was told was that the reason I didn't go into labour on my own with baby #1 (who was three weeks late. Yes, weeks) was that my body couldn't produce enough hormones because I was so fat... Hello? Bullsh*t. But they told this to a women who was almost 10 months pg and of course I believed them! Anyhow, add in to a women who is now doubting her body an OB who beleives that fat women shouldn't have babies and you get a recipe for a c-section... as a help, but also in part, sometimes, as a punishment for having sex and getting pg. My daughter was over 10lbs so they "stuck" her repeatably to check her blood sugar since I "must have had un-diagnosed GD". After three normal results they tried to get her blood one more time and I said no. A few weeks after her birth, I asked for and got a... what's the test that checks blood sugar over the past few weeks? A1C? Anyhow, my blood sugars had been normal, I did not have undiagnosed GD. The fact, however, remains that my daughter was very big. She's remained big and of my three is the one who shows the most tendancy towards being fat... she's has a big appeatite, though isn't fat because she's VERY athletic. Check out http://www.plus-size-pregancy.org P: it's the best fat positive pregnancy site out there, by far. BTW, I went on to have two more children. Both were homebirths after cesearean. In large part because of FA/SA I was able to learn my body was not broken and FA was part of the emotional healing I had to do after the c-section. My first labour was over 30 hours of going no where (lots of contractions, urge to push but almost no dilation), my second was 7 hours and was un-assisted because he came so fast, my third was less than 3 hours. My second and third children were born in a birth tub, caught by their dad, and handed to me. I guess... if a woman is fat and healthy, I'd certainly recommend seriously looking into homebirth with a fat postive midwife.

Hi, new person here. I hope every big person who wants to have a child can. It must be tough to find a non-phobic provider, but I would think it would be worth it. I'm unable to concieve and it is one of my big regrets. Here's hoping for as many "big moms" as we can have !

Calling the fetus a "parasite" was a nice touch. Made me think of the movie Alien.

I don't quite understand what the uproar is with C-sections, like you must be some disgusting and horrible person to have one. Now I admit that if/when I go through it, I will try to do it completely naturally without being pumped full of pain killers, but that's me and I actually want to experience that. My mother tried to go naturally with my brother, but because he was coming out arm first they had to do the C-section and by the time I came around, there was already a nice scar to cut along and it was 10x easier to just knock her out and get me when it was most convenient. C-sections seem to be easier and more convenient so I don't get the problem. Plus the babies won't come out looking like mutants with squished heads. I got to be a model baby for teaching new parents how to do stuff and I was a little porker when I came out so raspberries to them!

Ah, a topic near and dear to my heart, as I gave birth to my sixth child 15 days ago in an unassisted home waterbirth. This was after my previous births had been medically managed up one side, down the other. I'd been treated as high risk solely because I'm fat, had been denied fertility assistance from four doctors because I was too fat to "even be considering" pregnancy before I lost weight, had it presumed that GD was absolutely going to happen -- during my first pregnancy, my doctor made me take the gestational diabetes screen six times. It's usually done only once, and this was despite the fact that neither blood nor urine tests showed any evidence of diabetes. (This was before I knew of HAES and SA and agreed with doctors that because of its size, my body was incapable of any measure of normalcy or health.) In my first two labors I was threatened with c-sections for "failure to progress" after just 6-8 hours, and when the doctors were questioned, they told my husband that there was no way that a woman of my size would have the stamina to endure labor and pushing. What it comes down to is this: in the eyes of the medical establishment, we are broken. Fat women are especially broken. We do not have sex. When we defy that presumption, we do not get pregnant. When we defy that presumption, we don't stay pregnant. When we defy that presumption, our pregnancies cannot be safe and healthy. When we defy that presumption, they do whatever they can to convince us (for numerous reasons, none of which are savoury) that we must have our babies cut from our bodies. I agree with nwhiker, fat, healthy women who want to work with someone who trusts their body's ability to birth the child that it conceived need to absent themselves from medicalized birth altogether. Pregnancy and birth are not diseases. They are not morbidities. Ob/Gyns are surgeons. Childbirth ought not be, in the vast majority of cases, a surgical procedure and certainly shouldn't be "managed" nor attended by a surgeon as a matter of routine. I encourage every fat woman who is considering pregnancy to start by realizing that it is completely possible to have a healthy, normal, natural pregnancy and birth regardless of their weight. Then I strongly recommend planning a homebirthand finding a fat-positive midwife who will attend one. (I do not say this because I will begin a course of study to become such a midwife in the beginning of next year, I'd believe it just the same!) Of course, thanks to the ongoing assault on mothers' rights from the medical establishment, homebirth-attending midwives practice on the edge or entirely outside of the law in many states, including my own, but there are still courageous, learned, wise women who will serve as midwives just the same, and they're worth looking for. It is, I believe, the only way to reclaim birth if you're a fat woman.

Panthera, the uproar about c-sections is this: - a c-section is a major surgical procedure which carries numerous risks, including anesthesia problems, infection, bladder and bowel incontinence and death. - c-section is the most overperformed surgical procedure in the developed world. The World Health Organization has estimated that more than 75% of c-sections are unnecessary from a medical standpoint. - a mother who receives a c-section has an extraordinarily heightened risk of future pregnancy problems including uterine rupture which can lead to both maternal and infant mortality. And that's not even addressing the practical consideration of going home 48-72 hours after a major surgery with a new baby who will need feeding and bathing and everyday care and a household to run, but a c-section routinely interferes with the establishment of successful breastfeeding and many mothers find it difficult if not impossible to carry their new babies without pain, especially if the baby is 9 or 10 pounds or to go up and down steps or do other mundane tasks. C-sections aren't simple, and they should not be entered into lightly or presumed to be safe, reasonable alternative means of birthing children. They aren't the equivalent of the work that women's bodies are designed by nature to do, they happen altogether more often than they need to and should not ever happen because they're convenient. (Yes, Britney Spears and Posh Spice, I'm looking your way!) I can't be more emphatic about it without ranting.

I had TWO c-sections after LONG labours that led to TWO healthy children with NO problems. If I had tried to push out my second child, I could, quite concievably, have killed him as he was 10 lbs 6 oz and had a HUGE head and i have a TINY birth canal. I breast-fed both of my kids til they were over one, came home with no problems after both C-sections and never had the devastating pain people refer to. Sure...I was sore...but I went through 24 hours of labour AND a c-section...who wouldn't be? I had originally planned a natural birth and felt like I had done 10 thousand kinds of wrong when I ended up having to have a c-section. You should NEVER berate someone for having a C...you don't know why they did it. I am not saying everyone should have one, I am not saying they are fun and dandy....but a hell of a lot of mothers and babies are alive to day because of them that wouldn't be without them.

About c=sections, I'll add a few more: loss of sensation in the belly area: I can't feel anything but weird itchy creepy crawlies from my belly button to the scar. Uterine ruptire is the big bugaboo of vag birth after a c-section, but more commom and less discussed are placenta problems, which can also lead to premature labour, mom and baby mortality and can often net mom a hysterectomy. It's often said that a c-section takes the risk off of the baby being born and pushes it on to hte fugure siblings (if the baby was at risk in the first place, which is often not the case). And... a higher number of women with c/s decide not to have a second or more child. Other bit. And unwelcome c-section is as close to rape as you can get without being raped. You lose all automony, in many cases you are strapped to a table with your arms out... like a crucifiction. You may -or may not- be able to feel yourselve breathe, which is frightening. You are cold. You are not doing, you are being done too. I had horrid post partum depression after my c-section. It took me years of therapy and pain to be able to even talk about it without breaking down. I was lied to, cut open and my baby was taken out of me. This is not what birth is supposed to be about. Fat women are being subjected to this even more than normalweight woman and it's even worse because it is proven (studies were done) that fat women don't heal as well as normalweights... so the risks go up even further. Dreama, thanks for writing all that. It pretty much sums it up. Though lemme tell ya... it's pretty hard to find a midwife to do a homebirth, try finding one who will attend a VBAC at home. It's even more complicated. It was, however, refreshing in a sick sorta way to be "at risk" because of a scrar rather than my weight (I'm not one who beleives in the big risk of uterine rupture).

C-section mom here, and yes, I have that awesome loss of sensation, still, 4 years out from my c-section, I have that problem. Trying to conceive again now, and I'm heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight with my son. My OB/GYN started talking repeat c-section at my consultation before I even got pregnant (which I'm still not)! He did not particularly harp on my weight when I got pregnant the last time, but all of a sudden now that I've had one c-section I might as well have another one, because what if there was an emergency?? Why, there'd just be no way they could take the extra minute or so to cut through ALL THAT BELLY FAT I have in an emergency c-section. I'm not comfortable with homebirth at this time for myself, although I yearn for it, because I had severe pre-eclampsia with my son and really did need some medical attention, but I *am* looking into changing health care providers when I become pregnant again. I want a doctor who doesn't *automatically* treat me like a health risk because of my weight.

Reading everyone's stories makes me so, so, so grateful for my wonderful OB. He told me that while you are pregnant, you are NOT fat. You are just pregnant. He wasn't worried about my weight at all. When I developed severe preeclampsia at 22 weeks and was forced to terminate my pregnancy to save my life, he never blamed my weight, although many doctors would have. In fact, he told me that women in Ethiopia have a higher rate of pre-e than women in the US do. After I lost my boys, he did suggest losing weight--but not at all in a rude or mean way. He just said, "You were pretty uncomfortable, maybe losing a few pounds would help. But don't worry too much about it." He was right--I was uncomfortable while pregnant, same as I'm somewhat uncomfortable now at 300 lbs (sore knee, heel spur, etc). I didn't lose any weight, and now I'm going to try to get pregnant again--and I know he won't care. I feel lucky to have such a great provider--and I wish I could have a midwife-assited home birth, but now with my pre-e history I really AM high risk and will need to be at a hospital.

Oh Cecily! How utterly horrid and awful for you. I'm sorry you had to go through that. :( Here's hoping the pre-e doesn't repeat. Bafleyanne, good luck finding a good provider. I've found midwives to be wonderful in general, so even if you don't have a homebirth, you can get good midwifery care in hospital.

Regarding the C-section debate, it's never a question of blaming the mother who had a C-section done (except for the celebrity C-sections for convenience already mentioned) -- it's that doctors often perform C-sections unnecessarily. There is such a thing as a necessary C-section, and in that case the benefits outweigh the increased risks of natural birth.

I think the nerve problems are just a risk of any kind of surgery. I have damaged nerves on my knee from when they cut it open to insert a metal rod into my bone to brace it when it was broken. I also got a dimple from the bone pinching the muscle and nerves when they set it, and so I have a numb half of one knee, and then from the middle of my calf down to my ankle as well. Turns out my surgery wasn't necessary either, as they had new procedures for when both bones break in the calf now. I was a C-section baby, and I would not have survived were it not for that. I barely survived as it was, being born 2 months early in the late 70's. C-sections can be very dangerous, and my mother actually had her tubes tied after me so she wouldn't have more complications from the C-section (although that was in the 70's - they might be safer now). I also have a female co-worker who had a lot of the complications that are being talked about here as being assumed to be caused by fat. She was put on bed rest about 6 months into her gestation, and was only able to work about 5-10 hours per week from about 4 months into gestation. I'm sure a lot of this has to do with the fact that she was dieting while pregnant. She just had a C-section last week, I believe a month early, though I don't know any of the details. She's also extremely thin.

I guess I was lucky with my two babies. I didn't really have any difficulties and I didn't feel like I treated as a high risk case. I was about 225lbs when i got pregnant both times. I was 28 with #1 and 30 with #2. I think it really must depend on the doctor and nurses where you deliver.

My sister had 2 miscarriages and she's rail thin. She and I are both C section babies (it's all her fault, she flipped over in the womb!). Our mom was always sporty and thin until she hit her 40's. I don't know what is up with this prgnancy stuff except they are trying to scare people into not having kids and/or into losing weight.

I think the nerve problems are just a risk of any kind of surgery. I have damaged nerves on my knee from when they cut it open to insert a metal rod into my bone to brace it when it was broken. Of course the nerve dammage thing happens whenever they cut nerves and that sucks about your knee. It's the un-necessary part that really bites, ya know? Plus -yeah, I know, tmi- the belly is kinda a major erogenous zone and I can't stand to be touched there anymore. Also can't wear any low cut panties that hit there etc. Things are totally different when it's necessary surgery that has consequences... Lizzy, your co-worker's bedrest and problems likely had nothing to do with dieting while pg. Bad nutrition can be a problem, but most major obstetrical issues are more complicated than that.

NWhiker-If the sensation caused by the nerve entrapment in the scar is too painful or annoying, there are injections that can be given which can help a lot-they're teeny tiny injections but the doc has to know what they're doing.

If anyone cares I did find something a little more "scholarly" than the AP/Sentinel stories on PubMed...just an abstract w/ some numbers... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11477502&query_hl=1

Well that just made me feel worse!

I was very upset to read these articles, but not surprised. Being a woman of size and eight months pregnant, this struck a cord with me. There is not a single article or website that doesn't warn about the hazards of being fat and pregnant. They recommend these weight gains like you can just turn a dial and that will be all the weight you gain. I have always had trouble with my weight why would this suddenly disappear because I am pregnant. Obviously, if you can't stay within the guidelines you must be eating like a pig and be as lazy as a sloth. At every turn from every doctor, I was told that I couldn't and shouldn't gain more than fifteen pounds throughout my whole pregnancy. My OB basically said that I should never have gotten pregnant, but since I did I had better be prepared for lots of complications and a strong likelihood my baby would not make it to term. If I did than a C-section would be the only way to go. After three months, I had already gained 12 pounds and was completely beside myself. My OB was constantly asking about what I was eating. He did not seem to care that my sugar was under good control and suggested I cut back my insulin. I had a nutritionist and probably ate better than he did, but since I was gaining so much weight it had to be me. I am diabetic (Type I) which means I limit sweets, breads and eating for two. I am extremely conscious of what I put in my mouth. Thank goodness for my Endo, he told me the most important thing was to keep my sugar under control and that my initial weight gain was most likely due to my body adjusting to good sugar control. (The story of my diabetes is a whole other saga that actually only began a month before I got pregnant) I began to become so upset about going to the OB that my blood pressure began to rise. Of course, the OB blamed my weight for this and I left in tears. Also, I had a lot of sonos and in each one the doctor would react surprised when the baby looked perfect. At 22 weeks, I finally found another OB who has been wonderful. She listens and trusts that I am eating right and despite my excessive 30lb of weight gain she says a regular birth is possible. My BP is now fine by the way. I guess what upsets me most, is that all this hoopla about obesity and pregnancy has seriously dampened what should have been a wonderful experience. It is like the only people who have the right to have a blissful pregnancy are thin women. Don’t even get me started on the limited maternity clothes selection.

Yeah I remember trying to find maternity clothes. I never did manage to find maternity pantyhose or slips in my size. I had to "make do" with regular items several sizes larger than my regular size to fit over my belly. Since I have a job that requires professional clothing I couldn't get by without hose and slips.

The article says, "Though very low weight gain in some women may cause a baby to be underweight, even babies born to mothers who've endured famine have fared well... ." So, there's the lesson to the fat women who dare get pregnant. Starve yourself. The baby will find a way to survive. I'm always amazed by the generalizations that occur when the topic of fat/overweight/obesity comes up. If you follow the numbers, 65% of all Americans are overweight. Do the critics (in this case, OB/GYNs) think that 65% of people aren't having sex? That 65% of people aren't having babies? The national demographic would be a LOT different if that were the case, and the census would be showing much different population numbers. Stef, as if the doctor telling you to wait until after WLS to get pregnant wasn't bad enough, I was heartbroken to read that you decided not to have kids at all. I hope that you had many, far more compelling reasons to make that decision than just the opinion of one ignoramus.

"Also, I had a lot of sonos and in each one the doctor would react surprised when the baby looked perfect." Some people really need a crash course in bedside manners.

"even babies born to mothers who've endured famine have fared well... ." This is a very crass and very ignorant remark. If such were the case, then why is maternal malnutrition pointed out as one of the main reasons for health problems of the baby/child? Not each and every disease/issue manifests itself at birth. Many are recognizable only when the child is a few years old. Also, if the quoted statement were true, what would be the point of all those "Sponsor a mommy-to-be" campaigns thanks to which you can give money to ensure proper nutrition to women in underdeveloped countries? It's outrageous that such things are said. It's not only demeaning and humiliating to fat women who want children, it's also a slap in the face to those women who endured famine while pregnant.

When my husband and I had been married for a year and I had not become pregnant, we decided to get some testing done. When I went in for the first tests, and was waiting for the doctor, the "helpful" nurse told me that if I lost weight I would probably be able to get pregnant. Pretty amazing since it turned out my husband was sterile!

"the "helpful" nurse told me that if I lost weight I would probably be able to get pregnant" That woman was being forward and out of line. The job of a nurse is to attend to the nursing needs of a patient, not to counsel on medical issues. Her doing so is as inappropriate as a blacksmith giving someone an injection. Nurses do take classes in anathomy, pathology, nutrition science and so on, but they are there only to help them have a more complete grasp of what happens in a sick person, and not to advise or handle in any matter which is not a nursing need.

There are studies that show that intrauterine undernutrition can predispose those babies to become fat adults. Yes, that's right, it's possible that dieting during pregnancy will produce even more fat kids. How's that for ironic?

Most women do not diet during pregancy. Most. Some do. Most do not. Most MDs, even the rotten bad ones, do make it clear that you need to eat well. I've been on pregnancy lists for over 8 years now, on and off, and have never heard of anyone voluntarily restricting food intake for the purpose of weight loss. Even when I ws on a pregnacy lists for people who had formerlly followed a commercial dieting program. Obviously, women with gestational diabetes are a totally different story but every woman I have talked with about nutrition and pregnacy and what their MD/OB/midwife had said all talked about how their care provider advised a heathly varied etc etc etc diet. No one, even the fat women, had ever been told to lose weight while pg. Now, our *mothers*, for those of us over... what? About 30? were told to restrict food and not gain more than 10lbs or so. That is no longer the case. Many fat women find that they/we actually lose weight while pg or maintain or gain very little.

I just now read the Orlando Sentinel article. Who does Dr. Artal think he is? Particularly the comment: "For them (fat women), less could still be the diet of another person for a week." Because, ya know, fat women are inherently pigs who can't control themselves and thinner women NEVER overeat, and fat is ALWAYS the result of overeating and laziness and stupidity and we just can't have "that" sort of people reproducing. What a f***stick! Then there's his brilliant insight: women "should" only gain weight accounted for directly by the pregnancy. Yeah, in an ideal world, asshole! And, as I'm sure others have pointed out by now (I usually always read the other posts after I've said what I think), women of all sizes have C-sections and women of all sizes have large babies. The reverse is also true: women of all sizes have small babies. I don't blame the reporter for what her interview subject said, but I did feel the tone of the piece made it sound as if women DELIBERATELY gain what they KNOW to be "excess" weight, and to such an extent that it, like "obesity," is just some huuuge problem. The telling comment came from Ms. Treadwell-Eng: "I have a real hard time with it (according to the reporter, "it" is "the way she looked"). Then the article seems to bemoan the fact that it took Eng "a year and a half" to shed her pregnancy weight. So what? Was she supposed to drop the weight overnight? Then, as if we haven't figured out we're supposed to be really scared: "She never regained her pre-preganancy weight of 145 pounds." The horrors! And (gasp!) she "is eight pounds heavier." Oh, no! She's 5'5" and weighs 153 pounds! Omigoodness, that's one pound less than the average weight of a woman an inch shorter than her! Hah! I bet she's sorry NOW that she dared, you know, EAT when she was carrying another life inside her! Obviously, Dr. Artal also has a "real problem" with the way women "dare" to look after childbirth, and he's couching it in medical terms. But sexism is sexism and his comments reek of it. What a disappointment (but not a surprise), to see this attitude. I think the ship has sailed, but for what it's worth, this is the address for letters to the editor of the Orlando Sentinel: insight@orlandosentinel.com

Oh, and another thing. (Thought I was done ranting, but then I clicked on the AP article). Good, good, sweet and considerate Dr. Riley said: "(fat women) need retrained for their own health. ...They're going to be raising kids. You don't want them to teach their kids those same bad eating habits." What. The. Hell. RETRAINED? Well, I guess in an ideal world, our self-appointed health nannies could just PROGRAM everyone to eat like they think we should, but, you know, since we're all only dumb animals, we'll have to be "trained." And of course, there's the obligatory: "for their health" argument, one everyone posting here knows is bogus. But THEN there's the line that implies if you're fat, you're a de facto bad parent, which is so far out of line that I cannot believe Riley's regulatory board, patients, etc. are letting her get away with it. And, for a healthcare professional, it's disturbing that she automatically assumes fat women are fat because they have "bad eating habits." It's therefore implicit that she believes the reverse to also be true: that thin women necessarily have great eating habits. I can forgive this in a layperson, but it seems a professional who in effect makes diagnoses based on what amounts to casual observance is a danger to her patients. Even more disturbing (as has oft been remarked upon): She isn't alone. Also, did anyone notice the bait and switch about gastric bypass? The article says women should wait 18 months after that surgery to attempt conceiving because if they don't, they are at risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. The g-i bleeding is therefore a risk of the SURGERY, but the IMPLICATION is it's the result of getting pregnant too soon--the statement ignores whether the women who do experience this side effect during pregnancy would have IF THEY HADN'T HAD THE SURGERY. I know the article was in effect endorsing the idea: "There! One more reason not to get fat!" but I take it as one more reason to never have weight loss surgery!

I am new to this blog and thought I would just weigh in on this subject. I am a 33 year old, 340lb black pregnant woman and the only reason I give all of this information is you know I have heard every criticism from a doctor that one could have. "You are high risk because you are fat. You will have high blood pressure, because you are fat, you will get diabetes because you are fat. You are in a group that is considered high risk because you are fat and black and African Americans have a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes....and many more comments." The amazing thing is that I have always been healthy. No history of heart problems, or high blood pressure. I never looked my weight and did not have any problems. I have to admit that in the beginning, I fell victim to the fat prophecies about being pregnant and ended up making myself sick because all that my doctor was telling me would make me sick because I am fat and pregnant. But now I am getting back to my regular self, other than the normal hormonal issues that a pregnant woman of any size may experience. I am big and beautiful and its interesting that even now that I am pregnant, more men find me attractive.