BMI, Pregnancy and Giving Birth

Should your birth options be limited because of your BMI?

The simple answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT! Your BMI is not an indication of your health or your ability to birth your baby!

Let’s explore the history of BMI a little bit…

The Lad Behind the Equation:

Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet was his name.

A fun fact about Lambert is that he was a MATHEMATICIAN…. and not a health care professional… as a matter of fact, the lad had no idea about health!

He invented BMI to help the government allocate resources within a population and geographical basis. In other words, BMI was never invented to assess an individual’s health.

The calculation also has its limitations… as it is with more studies, this was invented by only taking into account WHITE MALES. In addition to this, it completely ignores muscle mass!

WTF, RIGHT?

So how does a high BMI affect your birth options?

Whilst your trust will have their own policies, a high (or low for that matter) BMI does not affect the options available to you.

If you are told otherwise (no access to a pool, not allowed in a Midwife Led Unit and so on…), this is discrimination and not lawful.

If you need help navigating your birth rights, head over to www.newbirthclub.com and let’s have a chat! We are here to help!