Weighty Womb Worries

There was a time when being obese affected the life of one person – the obese person. Now, a study released in the journal Fertility and Sterility suggests it could also affect the life of those yet to be born.

After analyzing data from approximately 16 different studies that looked into the pregnancy rates of females considered obese (with a body mass index over 30) as well as those women considered in the normal weight range (a body mass index between 18.5 and 24.9), British researchers found there to be an almost 70 percent increased chance of miscarriage among obese women! The research was conducted by doctors from the University of Sheffield, which is located in the town of the same name in Great Britain.

As with most studies, the data is not compelling enough for the researchers to make a causal link between obesity and miscarrying as yet. But other British-based studies have reached similar conclusions.

For instance, St. Mary’s Hospital in London – one of the most well-renowned hospitals in the world and where the inventors of Penicillin (Alexander Fleming) and the electrocardiogram (Augustus Waller) got their start – reviewed approximately 700 different women to see if they can find any similarities among women who miscarried more than once. Even though a minority of the women in their sample size were considered obese (just 15 percent), they nonetheless found that there was a correlation between being obese and miscarrying more than once (the risk was raised about 73 percentage points when women were obese). They also found a correlation between how old a woman was and the likelihood of her miscarrying again. The researchers’ findings were presented before a board of clinical professionals in Canada this past September.

The mysteries revolving around the causes of miscarriage run deep. Most of the research suggests it’s primarily due to chromosomal abnormalities that develop during the pregnancy period itself, but the abnormalities that form often go undetermined (in other words, the abnormalities are due to happenstance more often than some identifiable cause). There are a number of risk factors that increase the chances of miscarriage, like age (the older one is, the more likely they are to miscarry), smoking, abusing alcohol, and chronic conditions like diabetes.

Nothing can be done to prevent a miscarriage. I have a friend who – despite being in tip-top shape, and never smoking a cigarette or drinking a drop of alcohol a day in her life, never mind abusing it – has had multiple miscarriages (Happily, she did give birth to a healthy boy just over a year ago, but she’s miscarried since then).

Even though nothing can be done to prevent miscarriage, there are a number of risk factors that increase that chance. It’s my opinion that obesity will be seen as a prime risk factor, as more and more obstetricians will advise their patients to make sure they’re watching their weight before attempting to have a baby with their spouse (doctors say that trying to lose weight while pregnant is not wise). Because as important as maintaining a healthy weight is to one’s own health, it’s also important to others’ vitality: namely, a woman’s fetus.