Scientists have found overweight and obese women have more complicated pregnancies and births.
Researchers at Liverpool University discovered women who were obese or overweight before they fell pregnant were more likely to have a longer pregnancy, need to have labour induced artificially or go on to require caesarean sections.
Scientists looked at the experiences of almost 30,000 women over a four year period. They found one in 10 obese women were overdue (defined as still pregnant 10 days after their due date) compared with around two in 10 women of a healthy weight.
The report also claims more than a third of obese women had their delivery induced, compared with just over a quarter of normal weight women. Of those women who were induced and overweight, three in 10 needed to have C sections.
The study is published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
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Did your weight affect your pregnancy and birth, or do you have friends who have been affected?
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