Obesity Increases Chances Of Birth Defects

February 11, 2009 by tanya
Filed under: Baby Health, News, Pregnancy

Studies into obesity show that mothers are more likely to have babies with birth defects if overweight.

Senior author, Judith Rankin at Newcastle University said “We found that being obese in pregnancy can increase a woman’s risk of having a range of birth defects,”

“A further finding is that women who are overweight may also be at an increased risk, although the research evidence is not so clear and further work is needed,” she added.

The results of their findings were published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Obesity in pregnancy has been linked with gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, and is found to increase chances of blood clots, infection and risk of Cesarean delivery.

Babies born to mothers who are overweight have a higher risk of being too large and more chances of perinatal death.

Cases of spina bifida, heart defects, cleft lip and palate are also seen to rise significantly when the mother is classed as obese.

The research suggested several theories in the rise of birth defects in obese mothers which included undiagnosed diabetes, nutritional deficiencies such as a lack of folic acid, and the difficulty of performing ultrasound on larger women which may result in defects not being picked up early.

Rankin added “Birth defects occur in between 2 and 4 percent of all pregnancies, so the risk, even in obese women, remains low. If a woman who is obese is thinking of having a baby, the most important thing is to speak to their doctor and to think about their weight and diet so that they eat healthily and sensibly”