How Can Your Weight Affect Your Pregnancy? Expert Shares Tips

Whether you are pregnant or planning to conceive, you have to be utmost careful about your health, what you eat and your lifestyle. One of the things on this checklist is your weight.

Yes, it plays a crucial role when you are trying to conceive or are already pregnant. Many women face issues while conceiving if they are over or underweight. Your weight can even affect the health of your child.

Why and how can your weight affect your pregnancy? What is considered a healthy range? To get you answers to all these queries, we connected with dietician Manoli Mehta who shared crucial information on the subject on Instagram.

Effect Of Overweight On Pregnancy

If you are overweight, it might create an issue for you when you are trying to conceive. The doctor would take into consideration your Body Mass Index (BMI) to see if you are overweight. If the scale crosses the 30BMI mark, it can increase the risks for irregular ovulation.

This can disrupt your period cycle, increase your chances of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), impact the quality of eggs and lead to hormonal imbalance. In many cases, being overweight has also been linked to miscarriages in the early months.

If being overweight leads to hormonal imbalance, it can lead to an increase in the production of male hormones and oestrogen too.

Effect Of Being Underweight On Pregnancy

If you are underweight, it can also affect your pregnancy drastically. The dietician mentioned that if your BMI is less than 18.5, it can directly affect your menstrual cycle. Your periods can become irregular which can create a ripple effect and start impacting your reproductive system. Hence, if you are underweight and planning to conceive, you should consult a doctor and proceed accordingly.

What Can You Do?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Manoli Mehta| Dubai | Weight loss| PCOS (@diet_with_manoli)

Try to make a few modifications to your diet three months before you want to start planning. You should opt for healthy options in the meal and start exercising to improve your stamina.

You should avoid intense workouts at the start. Try to slow and increase the intensity. It will help you prepare a routine, which will be easy to follow. Soon you will start witnessing changes in your body.

When you are thinking about making these changes, do consult your doctor. They will run some tests first to ensure there are no underlying health issues and guide you accordingly so that you have a better chance of conceiving and leading a healthy pregnancy.

You do not have to eat healthy during pregnancy and post-delivery, but you must opt for a healthy diet always. It is a cliché, but it can help to avoid many ailments in future.

If you maintain a healthy weight, it will increase your chances of conceiving by improving the quality of your eggs and regularising your menstrual cycle. These small changes in the lifestyle can also help you regulate blood sugar levels.

If you liked the story, share it. Stay tuned to HerZindagi for more.

Recommended Video