(no subject)
Aug. 15th, 2007 08:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ocelothttp://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/08/14/diet.pregnancy.ap/index.html says, in short, that a recent study shows that toddlers of women who gained the recommended 25-35lbs (15lbs for obese women, 40lbs for underweight women) during pregnancy were 4 times more likely to be overweight at age 3.
Why are they emphasizing straight weight gain over proper nutrition and adequate exercise? It feels to me like they're confusing correlation with causation. The problem women probably aren't the ones gaining weight by eating a healthy variety of food - it's the ones who gain by eating unhealthily, and it may well have more to do with passing their bad eating habits onto their kids than an actual direct effect of their diet during pregnancy. If women are getting too many calories from nutrient-poor sources, reducing their total intake to conform to arbitrary weight limits without an underlying dietary change is just going to mean they aren't getting the nutrients they need.
Where does the weight gained during pregnancy go?
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pregnancy-weight-gain/PR00111 says:
* Baby: 7 to 8 pounds
* Larger breasts: 1 to 3 pounds
* Larger uterus: 2 pounds
* Placenta: 1 1/2 pounds
* Amniotic fluid: 2 pounds
* Increased blood volume: 3 to 4 pounds
* Increased fluid volume: 2 to 3 pounds
* Fat stores: 6 to 8 pounds
So directly baby-related weight gain (not fat stores), would amount to 18-25lbs. Anything less than that is effectively telling the woman to lose part of her own body weight.
And the extra fat is needed, at least for women who are breastfeeding. Exclusive breastfeeding requires more calories per day than pregnancy (500 vs. 300). Many/most breastfeeding women lose the extra weight relatively easily. A few have so much trouble keeping weight on that they have to force themselves to eat and/or stop breastfeeding.
I think the part that worries me most is that too many doctors already use numbers as judgement on a woman's behavior. Way too many stories on www.preeclampsia.org sound something like, "I gained 10lbs in a week, and my doctor told me to cut back on the ice cream. Then both my baby and I ended up in the ICU with permanent damage to our health." (One of the symptoms of preeclampsia is excessive water retention, which causes sudden/extreme weight gain). And one view of preeclampsia is that it's related to maternal nutrition. If that's true, telling a mother gaining "too much" to stop eating so much is potentially dangerous advice.
Obesity is a problem. Unhealthy eating during pregnancy is a problem. Erecting more restrictive arbitrary weight limits is not a good answer. But I suppose it's cheaper and easier to implement than real education.
Why are they emphasizing straight weight gain over proper nutrition and adequate exercise? It feels to me like they're confusing correlation with causation. The problem women probably aren't the ones gaining weight by eating a healthy variety of food - it's the ones who gain by eating unhealthily, and it may well have more to do with passing their bad eating habits onto their kids than an actual direct effect of their diet during pregnancy. If women are getting too many calories from nutrient-poor sources, reducing their total intake to conform to arbitrary weight limits without an underlying dietary change is just going to mean they aren't getting the nutrients they need.
Where does the weight gained during pregnancy go?
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pregnancy-weight-gain/PR00111 says:
* Baby: 7 to 8 pounds
* Larger breasts: 1 to 3 pounds
* Larger uterus: 2 pounds
* Placenta: 1 1/2 pounds
* Amniotic fluid: 2 pounds
* Increased blood volume: 3 to 4 pounds
* Increased fluid volume: 2 to 3 pounds
* Fat stores: 6 to 8 pounds
So directly baby-related weight gain (not fat stores), would amount to 18-25lbs. Anything less than that is effectively telling the woman to lose part of her own body weight.
And the extra fat is needed, at least for women who are breastfeeding. Exclusive breastfeeding requires more calories per day than pregnancy (500 vs. 300). Many/most breastfeeding women lose the extra weight relatively easily. A few have so much trouble keeping weight on that they have to force themselves to eat and/or stop breastfeeding.
I think the part that worries me most is that too many doctors already use numbers as judgement on a woman's behavior. Way too many stories on www.preeclampsia.org sound something like, "I gained 10lbs in a week, and my doctor told me to cut back on the ice cream. Then both my baby and I ended up in the ICU with permanent damage to our health." (One of the symptoms of preeclampsia is excessive water retention, which causes sudden/extreme weight gain). And one view of preeclampsia is that it's related to maternal nutrition. If that's true, telling a mother gaining "too much" to stop eating so much is potentially dangerous advice.
Obesity is a problem. Unhealthy eating during pregnancy is a problem. Erecting more restrictive arbitrary weight limits is not a good answer. But I suppose it's cheaper and easier to implement than real education.
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no subject
Date: 2007-08-16 02:02 pm (UTC)A Dr's idea of going over diet is asking if you're taking your prenatal vitamin, and telling you to stay away from hot dogs and white cheese.
There isnt much room for nutrition when you only see your "patient" for 5-10 minutes a visit.... :/
no subject
Date: 2007-08-16 04:25 pm (UTC):P
I gained the 'recommended' weight - and while I've got my own dietary/weight issues - my daughter is not only *not* obese, she's on the low end of the scale for her age and height - and she eats healthy food (along with some not so healthy food - balance is key!) but it has nothing to do with what I weighted - it has to do with how we feed her! :*