Obesity in Women Linked to Birth Defects of Infants

Seattle – Women of child-bearing age now have yet another reason to lose those extra pounds before trying to conceive. “Try to be in the best physical and emotional condition as possible before pregnancy,” Dr. Miriam Greene of New York University’s Langone Medical Center advises. “That means you should have excellent nutrition, you should be exercising and come in for pre-pregnancy counseling.”

Not only is good eating habits, exercise and a general well being advisable for women of all ages, but in particular to those who can become pregnant.

Recent studies show that obese mothers pose more risk, double in some cases, to conceiving a fetus with spina bifida, clef palate and hydrocephaly.

While birth defects only affect less than 4% of all pregnancies, the relative risk to obese women still remains low. Dr Judith Rankin of Newcastle University states, “Spina bifida only occurs in approximately one in every 2,000 births, so the risk, even among obese women, remains very low.”

Maternal obesity tends to coincide with poor nutrition. Women with the potential to conceive should are advised to take 400 micrograms of folic acid on a regular basis. One expert, James Mills, senior investigator in the epidemiology branch at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development says there’s no reason to believe that higher doses of folate in obese women would help with the risk factor.

Before becoming pregnant women should really look into themselves and dig deep for that inspiration to live a better, healthier lifestyle.

The study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association

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