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Eating for two not recommended for pregnant women

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Summary of story from The Telegraph, May 18, 2011

 Eating for two when pregnant could be putting women at risk of long-term obesity, according to a study published by Bristol University recently.

 The long-term research, carried out over 16 years, supports increasing evidence that being overweight during pregnancy can have harmful effects on both mother and baby. 

The research found that pregnant women who exceeded the recommended amount of weight gain were three times more likely to be overweight, or ‘apple-shaped,’ in 16 years time.  

However, women who stayed within the recommended weight range while pregnant were far less likely to become obese and develop related health problems.

But obesity is not the only health risk. 

Research has shown that women who put on extra weight while pregnant are more likely to be overdue and have more complicated births, and that high risk caesarean sections carry increased risk of infection, bleeding and clots. 

Babies born to overweight women are also at greater risk of diabetes and obesity.

Author of the report Dr Abigail Fraser, said: “Our findings suggest that regular monitoring of weight in pregnancy may need to be reconsidered because it provides a window of opportunity to prevent health problems later in life.”

“You don’t need to eat for two in pregnancy because this will cause you problems in later life, and is also linked to a higher risk of your baby becoming obese in childhood.”

Although NHS guidelines specifically advise against eating for two, maternal obesity has become one of the biggest risks in childbirth. 

The number of women who fall pregnant and who are also obese has more than doubled in the last 20 years, increasing to 15 per cent of all mothers.   

It was also found in 2007 that half of all women who died during pregnancy or soon after giving birth were overweight.  

The results of the research will be published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

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