Fertility Fact:
12% of all infertility cases are a result of weighing too much or too little. An unhealthy body weight may prevent you from having children.

Not only does weight have an impact on fertility but it also impacts pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum outcomes.

If fertility isn’t an issue for you but you have an overweight or obese child, please read this because it may be a concern they deal with in the future if changes aren’t encouraged now. Working with Nutrition Care of Rochester, we can improve health outcomes for you, your significant other, the children you want to have and the children you already have in a safe, judgement free environment.

It is important to know what your BMI is before pregnancy. Your obstetrician or family doctor will weigh you, but have they had the conversation with you about working towards a healthier BMI before pregnancy that goes beyond the standard instructions to eat less and exercise more? You can only improve on something when you are aware of it.

Please note: If your BMI suggests that you are overweight or obese and you would like to start a family. I urge you, this is not the time to join a program that only takes into consideration drastically cutting calories and adding expensive supplements of questionable quality. Don’t starve yourself of nutrients when this is the time that you need them the most to make a healthy baby. A skilled RDN will be able to help you maximize your nutrients while decreasing your calories and recommend high quality and affordable supplements.

Check your BMI here: http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.html

Risk factors for being underweight or an excessive dieter before pregnancy

• Hormone imbalances that affect ovulation and subsequently effect fertility
• Poor fetal growth due to limited vital nutrients
• Babies born small for gestational age
• Birth defects such as neural tube defects
• Preterm birth
• Elevated pregnancy loss
• Offspring are more likely to develop hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease because of hormones that crossed the placenta to the developing baby
• It is absolutely crucial to have a nutrient assessment before you try to get pregnant if you are underweight or are if you frequently diet.

Obesity during pregnancy increases the risk of

• Miscarriage
• Fetal malformations (including neural tube defects)
• Gestational diabetes
• Preeclampsia
• Thromboembolism
• Preterm labor
• Stillbirth
• Fetal macrosomia
• Birth injury
• Childhood obesity, diabetes, and other adult chronic diseases due to circulating hormones that cross the placenta to the developing baby
• Postpartum weight retention
• Decreased rate of initiation and sustained breastfeeding
• Heart disease and hypertension later in life for the mother

Obesity during pregnancy increases delivery complications

• Increased rate of labor induction
• Oxytocin augmentation
• Longer labors
• Instrumental deliveries
• Difficulty administering spinal epidurals
• Cesarean delivery due to labor dystocia or fetal intolerance
• Intraoperative or postoperative complications such as hemorrhage, endometritis, and wound breakdown

Excess weight and infertility isn’t just a female problem. The health of the potential father plays an important role that not only affects fertility but the quality of the sperm (and potentially the quality of the child).

Paternal overweight and obesity on fertility

• More likely to experience infertility
• Decrease in the rate of live births while using Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)
• 10% absolute risk of pregnancy non-viability
• Increased percentage of sperm with low mitochondrial membrane potential, DNA fragmentation, and abnormal morphology
• Reduced reproductive potential

Benefits of paternal weight loss for improved fertility

• Weight loss interventions show a reduced rate of DNA fragmentation and spontaneous conception (without having to use ART) or with minimal assistance using intrauterine insemination
• Significant improvement in sperm morphology as more weight is lost
• Parents who are not overweight or obese are more likely to have children who are not overweight or obese
• It is a clear and a very important message that simple diet and exercise can REVERSE the damaging effects of sperm function caused by obesity

Associated Costs

• The average price of one in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment is $12,400 and often takes multiple treatments
• Annual cost to be an obese woman: $4,879
• Annual cost to be an obese man: $2,646
• Annual cost to be an overweight woman: $524
• Annual cost to be an overweight man: $432
• The average cost of working with Nutrition Care of Rochester is significantly lower and saves you money now and in the future!

What you gain by working with Nutrition Care of Rochester:

• Satisfaction knowing that you have taken the initiative to improve your health and the health of your children
• Peace of mind knowing that you are getting or will be getting certain nutrients that are important to sustain a healthy pregnancy with positive outcomes
• Learning how to make changes in a safe, judgement free place
• Knowing that your dietitian has experienced weight related labor and delivery complications with her first pregnancy but not her second. (I can empathize but I also practice what I preach)
• Hopefully achieving your goal of a healthy pregnancy!

Why does Nutrition Care of Rochester want to help you?

• To help people conceive babies by improving their health through weight gain or loss
• To ensure that the baby is getting the best nourishment in utero
• To teach future parents how to nourish a body with real food
• To prevent childhood obesity and I can only do that if the parents are educated first

Don’t wait any longer, call today for an appointment! I am looking forward to working with you!


References:

A Heavy Burden: The Individual Costs of Being Overweight and Obese in the United States. (2010 September, 21). Retrieved from: http://www.stopobesityalliance.org/wp-content/themes/stopobesityalliance/pdfs/Heavy_Burden_Report.pdf

American Society for Reproductive Technology. (2015). Retrieved from: http://www.reproductivefacts.org/detail.aspx?id=3023
 
Developmental programming of hypothalamic neuronal circuits: impact on energy balance control. (2015 April, 21) Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4404811/
 
Evidence for effects of weight on reproduction in women. (2006 May, 12). Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16790098
 
Impact of Obesity on Male Fertility, Sperm Function and Molecular Composition. (2012 October, 1). Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3521747/
 
Paternal obesity negatively affects male fertility and assisted reproduction outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. (2015 August, 10). Retrieved from:
http://www.rbmojournal.com/article/S1472-6483(15)00377-6/fulltext#s0135

Preconception Care: Nutritional risks and interventions. (2014 September, 26). Retrieved from:  http://www.reproductive-health-journal.com/content/11/S3/S3

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2013). Obesity in Pregnancy. Committee Opinion, Number 549, 121;213-217. Retrieved from http://www.acog.org/-/media/Committee-Opinions/Committee-on-Obstetric-Practice/co549.pdf?dmc=1&ts=20151009T2111425221

The Impact of Maternal Obesity on Maternal and Fetal Health. (2008). Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19173021

The State of Obesity. (2015). Retrieved from:  http://www.stateofobesity.org/