How Your Preconception (BMI) Affects Conception & Fetal Development
Lifestyle factors
Such as body mass index (BMI) can affect your ability to conceive and also impact your unborn child’s health – long term. One way we assess your health is knowing your body mass index (BMI). This metric simply takes into account height and weight. While there are many factors to assessing health, we do recommend being within a healthy BMI range.
BMI of 19 or less
Being at a weight-level that is a BMI of 19 or less can result in irregular or absent periods and the lack of ovulation.
Did you know that maternal nutrition before and during pregnancy is recognized as being an important factor for your child’s health both physically and intellectually?
Having low maternal weight at pre-pregnancy affects your unborn child and is associated with an increased risk of undernutrition and a decrease in intellectual domains such as verbal comprehension index amongst children. This is important to know and if you’re underweight and experience irregular periods, you may need to gain weight.
BMI of 27 or higher
Being overweight, or a BMI of 27 or higher can disrupt regular egg development and ovulation. And obesity is associated with an increased risk of almost all pregnancy complications.
These can include but are not limited to preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, delivery of a large for gestational age baby (LGA baby) and a higher incidence of congenital defects all occur more frequently than in women with a normal BMI. Obesity increases a woman’s chance of having a baby with a heart defect by 15%. The risk increases with rising obesity. Moderately obese women are 11% more likely to have a child with a heart defect, and morbidly obese women are 33% more likely. This can be devastating and is one reason why preconception health and management is so important to both the mother and unborn child.
How to improve your chances of conception
Research shows that a healthy body weight improves a woman’s chances of conception, whether naturally or through fertility treatments like IVF. Want another reason to watch the scale? Women who in a normal range of BMI also have better IVF outcomes. It’s not just women! Research also show that overweight male partners may lengthen a couple’s time to conception. And what’s even better, starting your pregnancy at a healthy weight also lowers risks of complications for mom and baby both during pregnancy and delivery.
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Unique Footprints Authors:
Caroline Susie, RD/LD
Caroline Susie is a Registered Dietitian, wife, mother of a 3 month old and two Jack Russel Terriers. She currently specializes in prenatal and postnatal nutrition and believes that taking a personalized nutrition approach is best. Learn more about Caroline, here.
Jenny Morrow, RN, IBCLC, LCCE, RYT
Jenny is a mom, neonatal nurse and founder of Unique Footprints (online pregnancy and early motherhood courses). Jenny has taught over 10,000 expecting families how to prepare for this time in their lives. Read more about Jenny here or you can watch her story.
From the Unique Footprints editorial team and Jenny Morrow, founder of Unique Footprints. Unique Footprints follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources from ACOG, the American Academy of Pediatrics, CDC, the U.S. Surgeon Guidelines and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The UF TEAM also thoroughly researches peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations. Unique Footprints is endorsed by the American Pregnancy Association.