Will You Tune into Obese & Expecting?
I don’t know how TLC comes up with this stuff – they already have TV gems like Say Yes to the Dress, Toddlers and Tiaras and my newly discovered favorite, Long Island Medium. But now they’re really going to the extremes with a new docu-drama called Obese & Expecting.
That’s right, it’s a show about four morbidly overweight mamas-to-be who are expecting. Entertainment Weekly reports that the series will chronicle the health issues, weight gain and relationship struggles of the pregnant women. An announcement by TLC said, “These women are challenging the perception – and the odds – of obese pregnancies, as they become moms, no matter their size or complications.” That should be an interesting hour of TV. For obese women, there are extra risks involved in pregnancy: Their babies have double the risk of stillbirth and higher risk of birth defects. Also, there’s a higher chance obese moms-to-be will develop gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and preeclampsia than women at healthy weight have.
But that’s not the only mom-related show that TLC is premiering — Birth Moms will follow three women who are struggling with their decisions to give up their babies for adoption. Both of the shows will premiere on May 17th (Obese & Expecting at 9 p.m. and Birth Moms at 10 p.m.)
Are you going to tune in? What do you think of these new shows?
Plus, more from The Bump:
Is it True Epidurals Don’t Work as Well for Plus-Sized or Overweight Women?
The Knot Blog
The Nest Blog
I am obese and gave birth to my daughter in January. I had a very easy pregnancy and birth. The only problem I had was at just shy of 39 weeks my BP started creeping up and I was induced a few days later. I was never preeclamptic and only agreed to be induced because I was ready to meet our daughter!
I think that this show is going to give people the misconception that obese women cannot have a healthy pregnancy. I am obese and have had 2 children. I unfortnately did not have good pregnancies, mainly because of morning sickness. I lose 20 lbs with #2. I did have gestational diabetes but my sugars were better than normal weight women. I showed signs or precclampsia at the end of both pregnancies but went full term.
I just hope that people understand that because I am fat does not mean I am not healthy.
Being fat does mean you are unhealthy. Now, that doesn’t mean you aren’t healthier than a person who isn’t obese. Obese people are at a much higher risk for many health problems, but it doesn’t mean you’ll have them.
I have obese friends who delivered babies, but their pregnancies were terrible.
I think it will be an interesting show, and I hope it will encourage women to get healthy before having children.
i was over 300 pounds when my son was born 6/11 he came on his own at 38wks but we had to have a c-section do to him being breech. he is a very happy healthy 10mnth old now. i am also currently 8wks pregnant with baby number 2. with my so i was never sick never had high bloodpressure very easy wonderful pregnancy!
what the general public does not seem to notice is most obese women like myself have struggled with their weight most or all of their lives and have spent most or all of that time dieting and excersizing due to that i have noticed that obese women are more conscious of everything they eat and do unlike “healthy” people for example even though i am considered “morbidly obese” i eat healthier drink more water and excersize more often than any of my “healthy” friends i do all of these things because i have spent most of my life on a diet and continue struggling to be at a normal weight i feel that by saying women have all of these risks they are implying that we should avoid having children and i find that extremely offensive i am currently 38 weeks pregnant with my first child i have gained a total of 6lbs for my entire pregnancy i have had No complications what so ever my baby is healthy and active and i have had a HORRIBLE experience due to doctors constantly making me feel like i am a ticking time bomb they have been stressing me out over problems that have never came to be i I think pregnancy in its self is a case by case thing “healthy” women or women of a normal weight have complications and still births and gestational diabetes too the last thing obese women need is more people misconstruing the fact that just because your not obese that means your healthy and just because you are obese your unhealthy,
With our global community being less healthy and more heavy, I think it’s important to show the obese pregnancies. It’s not that we can’t have a healthy child or have no issues ourselves while pregnant but making it very wary that there are complications. We tend to tell ourselves and other pregnant women that they can eat whatever they want but that is not so. We must make the healthy decisions to keep us and those little ones out of danger. I am no skinny minnie (rather obese for my frame) and I was almost out of the “obese zone” and into the “just fat zone” when I got pregnant. My BP went up for the last 2 weeks after a very healthy pregnancy and doing the best to eat healthy and exercise. I had a c-section as well but I know that if I plan to expand my family, I must lose a lot of weight before I try again or else the 2nd time might not be so easy going.
I agree with Amanda. There are already so many misconceptions about obesity…this will make it worse! I am technically obese. I weigh 220 pounds. But I am healthier than a lot of normal weight people! I eat extremely healthy, I don’t smoke or drink, I exercise daily and I can run up three flights of stairs without losing my breath. I don’t look obese, and I certainly don’t feel obese! I had a textbook pregnancy with my last baby. Only gained 25 pounds and lost it fairly easily. You CAN have a perfectly healthy pregnancy and be obese. Personally, I would not care to watch that show. I have a feeling that we as obese women would be grossly misrepresented.
Well, I’m not so sure I’m going to like this show. I was 165 and mostly muscle when I graduated High School…now I am 254 and pregnant. I also have hypothyroidism….I am 16 weeks pregnant with a healthy baby boy. I am actually in better health since I’ve become pregnant thanks to my metabolism and everything being level, and I have lost 20 lbs (replaced with a nice baby bump) so I’m fairly sure this show is going to be very misleading and probably offensive.
There is NOTHING healthy about being overweight. Stop trying to fool yourself.
Be Blessed!
I too am obese. I would actually be considered morbidly obese. I weigh over 300 lbs. I would hate for others out in the world to be lead that we cannot have healthy pregnancies. I would say that watching your weigh is a very wise thing to do when you are obese. I gained 60 pounds with my first baby but I did not watch my weigh at all, I was much younger. I have since had a gastric bypass and I have had another baby. I did not gain any weigh at all and lost 3lbs upon leaving the hospital I am currently pregnant with my 3rd child and I have only gained 4 lbs and I am 5 1/2 months. It is very possible to be just as healthy as those who are not over weight and have children. I do have high blood pressure but I had that before I became pregnant and it had been regulated just fine. I have not had any other complications with any of my 3 pregnancies. All of my children are healthy and normal.
I am very iunteressted in seeing what types of women they have on the show and what complications they have. I would assume of course they would air the ones with the most serious complications.
[...] TLC is at it again with yet another eye-opening show. This time, they’re debuting Obese & Expecting, a docu-drama that follows the pregnancy stories of obese women and the extra challenges they face, [...]
I came to this site specifically because I’m 32 and obese, and I wanted to know what the real deal is for obese women and pregnancy. These comments are very insightful — thank you everyone.