Читать книгу Need to Know Fertility, Conception and Pregnancy - Harriet Sharkey - Страница 95

Take exercise

Exercise plays an important part when trying to lose weight. Your weight depends on the balance between the food you take in and the energy you burn up. If you take in more energy from your food than you burn up with exercise, you will gain weight. If you do not take much regular exercise, build up the amount gradually before you get pregnant.

risk. But perhaps the greatest effect can be seen with the risk of getting gestational diabetes. Compared with a woman with a BMI of 20-25, a woman with a BMI of 26-29 has just over a three-fold increase in the risk of having diabetes in pregnancy, but if her BMI is over 30, the risk is more than 15 times higher. So the risks of many of these complications, including birth defects, is related directly to BMI. The higher the BMI, the higher the risk, so if you have an increased BMI any reduction in weight you can make pre-pregnancy is valuable.

Ideally, specialist advice is required to provide you with an individualized assessment and management plan. Specific help from dietitian and support groups is invaluable in losing weight and maintaining it. It is also valuable to consult your doctor for a full health assessment to help identify any additional or associated problems, like high blood pressure or high blood lipids (fats), which might need specific treatment.

When losing weight, set a realistic target over a period of around three months. Then, in the longer term, to maintain a steady weight and avoid further increases, aim to establish a change in your diet and exercise patterns.

As you correct your weight, you may start to ovulate and so fall pregnant when you were not expecting it. This might be before you and your body are ready for it. Because of this, you might want to consider using contraception until you have reached your target weight.