Almost any news about autism captures our attention because, despite its prevalence, it's still one of the least understood developmental disorders. There's no consensus on what actually causes autism, but a recent study suggests one factor might be obesity during pregnancy. The study (Maternal Metabolic Conditions and Risk for Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders), which will be published in the May issue Pediatrics, suggests there's a "strong association" between diabetes, obesity and hypertension during pregnancy and autism. You can learn more about the study from our Pediatrics Guide, Dr. Vince Iannelli and his excellent blog post describing the details of the study.
While we're still in the early stages of understanding what causes autism, this study brings to light the problems that arise from being overweight or obese while pregnant: High blood pressure, increased risk of miscarriage, complications during labor and delivery, increased risk of birth defects and an increased risk that your baby will be obese.
The question here is: If you're overweight or obese and pregnant, should you try to lose weight? The general consensus is no, but there are experts who question this, as well as the general rule that a woman should always gain weight (usually 15-25 pounds) during pregnancy. One of these experts is Dr. Raul Artal who conducted a study involving obese pregnant women to determine the effect of gestational weight change on pregnancy outcomes. The study found that "[l]imited or no weight gain in obese pregnant women has favorable pregnancy outcomes."
Clearly, this is a topic begging for more research and your first resource should be your doctor, but there's one clear message coming out of all of these studies: Eating for two should be a thing of the past, and exercise should move to the top of the priority list for pregnant women (or, at least, for those without any complications or restrictions, of course).
Pregnancy and Exercise Resources
- Exercise During Pregnancy
- How to Get and Stay Active During Pregnancy
- 4 Great Pregnancy Exercises
- 10 Reasons to Exercise in Pregnancy
What about you? Was your weight an issue before or during your pregnancy, or did a loved one experience that problem? What did your doctor recommend and how did you handle it? Leave a comment and tell us about your experiences with pregnancy, obesity and weight gain.
I am and always have been overweight/obese. With my first pregnancy I developed gestational diabetes and in my efforts to keep excellent control of my sugars I actually only gained 1 pound and I had a very healthy 7lb 11oz baby boy who is now a very healthy 6′ tall slim 19 yo. With my second pregnancy (19 years later) I had type 2 diabetes and was pregnant with twins. I again tried very hard to keep excellent control of my sugars but this time I gained 50 lbs (most of which was water I was incredibly swollen) and gave birth to a very healthy 7lb 1oz girl and a 7 lb 14oz girl. They are both very healthy and active at 5 months old and I had lost all 50 lbs of pregnancy weight within a month because it was mostly water. Both of my OB’s recommended a much smaller weight gain than the norm because of my starting weight.
Paige, would not at least recommend regular everyday exercise, such as walking for 30-60 minutes? It seems that would at least stabilize the weight and do wonders for the health of the mother (and child).
Scout09 – Yes, walking is the most recommended exercise for pregnant woman and one of the best ways to maintain fitness throughout pregnancy. Thanks for pointing that out.
Sometimes weight gain during pregnancy is beyond one’s control. I gained 60 pounds in 32 weeks due to pre-eclampsia before my daughter was delivered via C-section. I lost 50 during the 2-3 weeks that followed. The doctors who treated me made it clear that there was nothing I did to cause the condition, nor was there really anything I could have done to prevent it. It happens in older moms, first time moms and in very young moms. I exercised at least 4 X’s a week up until a week before the delivery and ate a healthful diet — not perfect, but pretty darn good. I know that I could not possibly have eaten enough to gain the 5 lbs. a week I was gaining for the last 6 weeks or more of the pregnancy. It’s just not possible to eat that much for that long.
Just one more thing to avoid the real cause of autism, our diets. They are full of plastic, hormones, antibiotics thanks to what we have done as a species on earth.
No one should gain more than 40 pounds with their pregnancy but no one should diet either. Drink plenty of water even though it has it’s contaminants and eat foods you actually have to prepare, not that boxed instant crap so many people eat.