What is your view on weight and preeclampsia?

[princess purr]

I'm 5'4 to! When did you start the LDA and lovenox? I'm a little unhappy that my OBGYN doesn't feel I need to consult with an MFM until I get a +, but I guess it kind of makes sense because i consulting him with him years ago and he said he wouldn't need to see me again until I got pregnant... but still I wonder if there is something I should be taking other then prenatals... I'm think about maybe trying baby asprin, I just don't want to take anything that will do more harm them good!

[alexis]

I think it's also worth remembering that overweight/obese women are more likely to have chronic hypertension and Type 2 diabetes, which both increase the risk of PE. I think the relationship between PE and weight, such as it is, is complicated and may not be related to weight itself but the complications of obesity.

I was about 25 lbs heavier when I got pregnant with #1 than #2 (obese by BMI both times). But, my underlying HTN was worse with #2, and that worries me more than the difference in weight.

[angieb]

My MFM had me start LDA after a + test and lovenox after we confirmed a heartbeat (supposed to be at 6 wks but the pharmacy didn't get it in until 7 wks.)

I really really like weight watchers for losing weight, I lost 30 lbs on it in 3 months before I got pregnant the first time.

[princess purr]

I used to do/like weight watchers, but the new plan was hard for me to follow. I felt like I was spending forever trying to figure out how many points things were. I have an app I downloaded on my phone that I just just scan the bar code on packages or look up stuff and it logs calories, fat etc. I was doing good on that and then this last week I'm not sure what happened.
I guess maybe when we get closer to trying I will start doing baby asprin and then when it is confirmed see what the docs want me to do.

[caryn]

My instinct is to say that for some people it might be relevant, but those people are likely mild, late-onset, and obese BMI. (Totally a guess on my part.) We've any number of posters who are marathon runners/ in the military/ lost weight and got it *worse* the next time. That said, losing weight is one of the handful of things anyone has any control over at all, there are preliminary studies that have found a dose-response relationship between weight and PE - the more you weigh, the higher your risk - and there are some bigger studies showing a slight effect of weight loss between pregnancies.

Here's a link to discussion of the effects of bariatric surgery and here's a link to discussion of the effects of weight loss between pregnancies.

[princess purr]

Thanks for the links to the posts!! The jokers in the deck of cards makes the odds a lot easier to understand... of course it also makes me think that my deck is either almost totally jokers OR very few depending on how someone wants to view the over 7 years, new partner, no underlying problems/normal blood pressure history. I explained it to the hubby and he understands better now the risks I am talking about. So, I guess to be on the safer side, and it is healthier anyway.. I will keep trying to drop a few pounds and hopefully that will take a couple jokers out.

[jean]

This whole thing makes it kind of scary when you ARE pg again. B/c you want to gain weight (sure, not excessively, but some) while pg..yet you don't want to gain too much to raise your risks of pe-hellp. *sigh* I've gained some more than I'd like thus far this pg. (but no more than the doctor has recommended or anything)

[princess purr]

I think everything about being preggers is scary when you know what we know! Good luck this time around!!!
My last pregnancy I gained no weight until I started swelling, doc said it was okay as long as I was eating a healthy diet and not losing weight. I kinda sorta in my heart feel like my weight had nothing to do with it because my blood pressure went right back down after and has remained stable since. But I will do whatever I can to lower the chances, and just to give myself so piece of mind that it wasn't my weight.

[caryn]

Like I said, Jean, there's no evidence that restricting weight gain in pregnancy lowers preeclampsia risk! So gain at the rate you're gaining, and don't worry about it - I am really expecting further research to show that what those studies have been picking up is the rapid weight gain caused by the leaky blood vessels in preeclampsia leading to swelling. In other words it's picking up the fact that women who are going to develop preeclampsia are already heading down that road.

[z1ggy23]

If restricting weight gain were a magic fix, I wouldn't be here. I have lost WEIGHT w/ EVERY pregnancy (including this one).