Malnutrition and obesity among women are escalating the risks of pregnancy and subsequently, giving birth. Malnutrition is leading to the retarded growth of children and increased risk of infections due to weakened immune system. On the contrary, obesity results to excessively large newborns, if the pregnancy could be successful at all. In fact, health experts acknowledge that there is a growing problem of both malnutrition and obesity epidemic nowadays.
Due to lack of substantial resources, malnutrition during pregnancy is prevalent among developing countries. Pregnant women are going to bed with their stomach empty. In turn, the baby inside her suffers the devastating result. Both the mother and her baby are at risk of weight loss and maternal mortality.
According to The Borgen Project, culture and tradition can play a vital role in pregnancy as well. There are some customs that forces women to eat last during meals. As a result, pregnant mothers has the possibility to receive less food. Not only that such idea compromises the baby, it also causes impaired development of the embryo.
Meanwhile, excessive body fats or obesity can also negatively affect pregnancy. Not just about problems of giving birth to a healthy baby, obesity can also affect the ability to get pregnant in the first place. Mayo Clinic said that higher body mass index inhibits normal ovulation and Vitro fertilization.
The main fear among obese women are risks of complications during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes or diabetes developed during pregnancy is likely to occur in women who have excess weight. Perhaps the most devastating to pregnant obese is the heightened risk of miscarriage.
Lastly, obesity can lead to painful labor. Health experts observed that induced labor and C-section are common among obese women. During the process, it is difficult to alleviate the pain since obesity can hamper some pain medication, including epidural block. Simply put, obese have lower chances of successful vaginal delivery and the solution could be either elective or emergency C-section.
