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Obesity and C-sections

Is There a Link Between the Two?

By Teri Brown

Gina Ritter, a mother of three from Wappingers Falls, N.Y., was about 220 pounds when she had an emergency C-section. She isn't sure if obesity played a part in it, but figures there may be a connection. She also thinks it's important for weight challenged mothers to educate themselves on the subject beforehand so they know what risks they may be facing.

"Talking to a midwife about the obesity/C-section link might shed a ton of light on the subject," says Ritter. "I do think it can play a role, but it can be helped, too."

Dr. Jacques Moritz, the director of gynecology at the St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City, believes the number of C-sections has risen dramatically in recent years due in part to the increased rate of obesity. "C-sections rates are rising quickly in the U.S., and there are many reasons for this," says Dr. Moritz. "For one, there is an increase in the birth weight of babies as well as an increase in weight for the mothers."

Dr. Moritz believes one of the major medical problems facing obstetricians today is patient obesity. Not only can it cause problems for the mother-to-be, such as maternal diabetes and high blood pressure, but it also can increase her chance of having a C-section as opposed to a vaginal birth.

Brette Sember, co-author of Your Plus-Size Pregnancy (Barricade Books, 2005), says the link between obesity and C-sections has been proven. "A Case Western Reserve University study showed that plus-size women had twice as many first time C-sections as other women," says Sember. "The study separated out gestational diabetes and isolated weight as a separate risk factor."

There are several reasons why obesity increases the chance of an emergency C-section. One of these is a longer labor time. Sember says a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study showed larger women have naturally longer active labors – defined as the time going from 4 centimeters to 10 – between one and one and a half hours longer.

"Many of these women, if allowed to continue to progress, can have successful vaginal births, but many physicians are unaware of this study, so women who could probably deliver vaginally instead end up on the operating table because they exceed the usual time limits for labor," says Sember.

Want to see more?

• A Healthier Pregnancy: Exercise Trends That Are Making a Difference
• A Guide to C-section Births: What Dads Need to Know
• Six Months to Conception: A Practical 5-Step Plan Toward Pregnancy
• Talk about it!

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