Dispatch: Obesity and Pregnancy

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Sunday’s New York Times included a front-page article about the health toll of obesity for pregnant women and their children: “About one in five women are obese when they become pregnant … And medical evidence suggests that obesity might be contributing to record-high rates of Caesarean sections and leading to more birth defects and deaths for mothers and babies.”

“The consequences of obesity in pregnancy and childbirth are not news to us,” says Dr. Whelan. “Nonetheless, this report was frightening, and they didn’t even mention the fact that obesity seems to increase the risk of infertility, so it is a major obstacle to getting pregnant in the first place.”