The Effect Of Vaginal Birth On Obese Women

The risks associated with obesity in pregnancy do not only surround physical issues it also affects effective care given to obese women using maternity services and the outcomes of their delivery. Schmied et al (2010) found a that obesity affects the appropriate care that obese women receive. The midwives documented difficulties palpating the abdomen of obese women and not being able to determine fetal position or auscultation of the fetal heart, in return making it hard to assess fetal well being. In agreeance Singleton and Furber (2013) suggest that a midwife’s role is to promote normality, but for high risk obese women in labour, it is increasingly difficult to do so. The study found that auscultation using a pinard stethoscope and sonicaid proved difficult in many cases for women with a BMI of over 30, therefore the use of a cardiotocography (CTG) was needed to monitor fetal well being. Slavin, Fenwick and Gamble (2013) found that the use of CTG in labour reduces mobility of

According to the Endocrine Society webpage, obesity is an enormous concern in the United States and it is related with diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension. People with obesity have a higher risk of suffering a heart attack, abrupt cardiac death, angina, and cardiac arrhythmia than those that have a healthy body. Fat accumulation promotes higher levels of triglycerides and bad-cholesterol, and reduces the level of good cholesterol. Other potential health problems for obese people could be a stroke incident or renal failure. In the same way, overweight is a characteristic of young women diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, hormonal dysfunction, and infertility. Furthermore, most of the people with diabetes (Type 2) are obese. The National Health and Nutrition

The exclusion criteria included BMI below 25%, those currently pregnant or nursing, a loss of ten pounds or more within the last month, and those with identified medical issues and unable to obtain medical approval. In addition, a delay of one allowed the subjects to obtain required medical clearance. Failing to acquire medical approval, eight women could not participate in this study. Four others had difficulties committing to the time. This dictated the sample size.

Obesity in pregnant women is a global concern. In The United States, obesity is a critical public health issue—one in every three women is obese (Masho, et al). This issue becomes crucial in the context that 36% of pregnant women in the United States are obese (Shub, et al). Studies show a strong association between maternal obesity and health risks during pregnancy and labor. In addition, a disconnect in perception and awareness exists such that most obese pregnant women who gain weight during pregnancy underestimate their Body Mass Index (BMI); and also have poor knowledge about the risk associated with obesity.

The writer explained there could be no concern for fetal or maternal health during the delivery although some obstetricians tended to induce labor in all diabetic mothers to protect babies and mothers. Moreover, labor progress was supposedly assessed by old-fashioned methods, which resulted in performing unnecessary obstetrical practices. Intervention was imposed in cases of inaccurately labeled slow or abnormal labors and failures to progress. It is common practice that a primary cesarean generally produces subsequent surgical deliveries. The author realized that cesareans were performed because of insufficient data on laboring women’s

According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011-2012, more than 34% of all adults are obese in that their BMI exceeds 24 (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2014). Interestingly, though this prevalence is high, it seems as though there has not been an increase since the same study done from 2003-2004. This seems to imply that we have plateaued at the peak that we have been rising towards since 1976 (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2014). To take this further, during the time of increasing incidences, in a study done from 1990-2004, it was seen that “the incidence of maternal obesity at the start of pregnancy [was] increasing and accelerating” which corresponds with the previous study’s findings (Heslehurst, et al.,

Obesity presents numerous health risks, both physical and mental. Obesity has been linked to or is a risk factor for many non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease (including stroke and heart) type two diabetes, many cancers (including breast, colorectal….), musculoskeletal conditions such as osteoarthritis, depression and mental health disorders. Obesity along with all of the alarming health implications have the ability to

A concern that many women have who have undergone cesarean birth, is whether or not they can have a vaginal birth after. The answer is yes; they can have a vaginal birth, but only if the incision made was a horizontal one. The benefits are the woman ass’d with fewer blood transfusions, fewer post-partum infections and shorter hospital stays (Rose, 1). On the other hand there are many risks: the uterine may rupture, it could result in maternal and

Over the past several years obesity hasn’t just increased drastically, it has doubled. Due to the drastic increase and the rate of obesity health factors have also went up significantly. Obesity contributes to many major health complications such as congestive heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. In this paper we are going to explore the causes and effects of obesity, and what we as nurses can do to help.

Those assumptions of the taken for granted relationship between obesity and health sometimes obscure the real causes that harm patients and lead to more fat-stigmatization. For instance, it is rare for a fat person to visit a doctor for checkup without hearing the normative advice to try to lose weight and eat healthy even though the visit might be completely unrelated to weight (Boero 2012: 134). This pre-assumptions and judgements that any fat person lives an unhealthy life style is already an issue.  The negative and automatic mind set of doctors, media and society towards obesity might be the root of the issue. Indeed, Boero in her book tells us of how gynecological cancer was thought to be more likely in obese women, and many concluded that obesity caused this type of cancer. However, one study, the WomanCare Plus, found that this cancer can be treated if early screening was done no matter what your size is (Boero 2012: 132). Moreover, they interviewed patients and found that women with high BMI faced some barriers that slowed their screening. For example, more than a third of women reported that they didn’t want to deal with the negative attitude of doctors towards their bodies. Also the embarrassment of not finding equipment that fit their size and the disrespectful treatments demotivated

A commonly known procedure when it comes to hospital births are epidurals. An epidural is an injection of a drug between the “epidural space” which causes

James, W. P. (2008). The epidemiology of obesity: the size of the problem. Journal of Internal Medicine, 336-352. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=9ede2d6d-4d02-42e9-aff7-dd9b2486a3c3%40sessionmgr4004&vid=8&h

The research problem is that women who are anticipating becoming pregnant may lack nutritional knowledge and their weight perception; For example, women may think that their weight is normal, but are unaware that they are actually obese and lack the knowledge of what a healthy diet is. Obese women and their offspring have an increased chance of obesity and chronic diseases while pregnant (Berenson, Pohlmeier, Tabassum, Rahman, Saade, 2016). The authors’ objective is to assess women’s diet and obesity knowledge as opposed to women that are not planning on becoming pregnant.

The number of women of child-bearing age who are overweight and obese is increasing today. This study investigates the views and attitudes of health professionals on giving antenatal care to women who have body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 and over. A qualitative study using three focus groups was assumed within the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at a large teaching hospital in south-eastern Australia. One with hospital midwives (n=10), one with continuity of care midwives (n=18), and one with obstetricians (n=5). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyze data. There are 6 dominant themes that emerged and formed a model representing current health care issues for these women: 1) obesity puts the health of

Vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) is the name used for identifying the method of giving birth vaginally after previously delivering at least one baby through a caesarean section (CS). A trial of labour (TOL) is the term used to describe the process of attempting a VBAC. An elected repeat caesarean (ERC) is the other option for women who have had a caesarean in the past. The rates of women choosing to deliver by means of an ERC has been increasing in many countries, this is typically due to the common assumption that there are too many risks for the baby and mother (Knight, Gurol-Urganci, Van Der Meulen, Mahmood, Richmond, Dougall, & Cromwell, 2013). The success rate of VBAC lies in the range of 56 - 80%, a reasonably high success rate, however, the repeat caesarean birth rate has increased to 83% in Australia (Knight et al., 2013). It is essential to inform women of the contraindications, success criteria, risks, benefits, information on uterine rupture and the role of the midwife in relation to considering attempting a VBAC (Hayman, 2014). This information forms the basis of an antenatal class (Appendix 1) that provides the necessary information to women who are considering attempting a VBAC and can therefore enable them to make their own decision regarding the mode of birth.