Gynecologists and endocrinologists recommend that young couples who have been trying to get pregnant for many years pay attention to the problem of obesity. Excess weight and infertility are inextricably linked. Experts point to concomitant diseases that arise as a result of excess body weight. The vegetative-vascular system, reproductive organs, and gastrointestinal tract suffer, and endocrine disorders occur. The cause of infertility often lies in these pathologies.
Reproductologists and gynecologists have been dealing with the problem of overweight or underweight for a long time. It has been proven that obesity, as well as anorexia, negatively affects reproductive system. It is difficult for a woman not only to become pregnant, but also to bear and give birth to a healthy child. In men, sperm count indicators worsen. Germ cells become non-viable and inactive.
How to determine your ideal weight
Testing for obesity is easy. IN modern world It is customary to focus on BMI - body mass index. It is calculated using weight and height data. A simple calculation is to subtract the number 100 (for women) and 110 (for men) from height. Example: a woman’s height is 162 kg, subtract 100 from this value, you get 62 - ideal weight.
Obesity and infertility in women
The chances of getting pregnant are reduced in women who are overweight. Obesity causes negative manifestations of the body and emerging pathologies.
- Excess body weight leads to serious disorders of the cardiovascular system and gastrointestinal tract, making it more difficult for a woman to conceive, bear and give birth to a child.
- the amount of estrogen increases, which also leads to infertility (hormonal disorders become the root cause of the unlikely natural conception).
- fertility occurs, excess weight provokes a decline in reproductive functions.
- at overweight women Often pregnancy is difficult, there is a high risk of premature birth and early miscarriages.
- Obesity is the cause of menstrual irregularities and absence.
The listed consequences can cause infertility in a woman. They do not appear in aggregate. Just one point can affect the functioning of the reproductive system.
Obesity and infertility in men
Your chances of getting pregnant decrease when we're talking about about male obesity. Often, excess body weight leads to the fact that a married couple has to seek help from fertility specialists. In the stronger sex, obesity and infertility are associated with impaired secretory function and hormonal imbalance. The importance of sex hormones, testosterone and prolactin, is incredibly high. Normally, the former should exceed the latter in terms of performance. If observed increased level prolactin in the blood, we can talk about a violation of spermatogenesis, a deterioration in the reproductive function of men.
Conception is unlikely if the stronger sex is obese for the following reasons:
- as a result of excess weight, bladder function is impaired and retrograde ejaculation occurs;
- the quality of genetic material, sperm motility and viability suffers;
- inability to have full sexual intercourse;
- Due to weight loss, most men develop varicocellus (varicose veins of the scrotum), which leads to infertility.
Obesity and IVF
Many couples resort to in vitro fertilization due to excess weight. This decision can be suggested by a doctor when infertility is discovered in one of the spouses. But the chances of an excellent pregnancy and successful conception are reduced if you do not undergo special preparation before IVF.
Obesity is the reason for several attempts at artificial conception. They will not always be successful. To prepare as much as possible for the procedure and reduce risks, you must adhere to the following rules.
- A woman or man suffering from obesity should go on a special diet. Their daily menu is excluded fatty foods, which are high in calories. You need to pay attention to fiber and plant foods. Forget about fast food, baked goods, carbonated drinks.
- An unhealthy lifestyle and decreased activity are considered to reduce the chances of conceiving. Both spouses are recommended to quit smoking and eliminate alcohol from their lives. Do more sports, ideal for overweight people: yoga, Pilates, swimming.
- Preliminary preparation is not complete without medications. Patients are prescribed proton pump inhibitors (Omez, Nolpaza, etc.). They help reduce the risk of gastrointestinal complications when losing weight; a feeling of fullness comes faster, which is important when losing weight.
Ideally, a man or woman should lose 2-3 kg of their actual body weight every month. On average, preparation for IVF lasts for these couples from 3 months to a year. The duration depends on the degree of obesity. Hormonal therapy may also be required during the preparation phase.
Treatment of infertility with obesity
Treatment of obesity takes place in several stages. The course of therapy depends on the degree of excess body weight. First of all, specialists carry out necessary tests to understand the cause of infertility. High weight is not always the deciding factor. The inability to conceive occurs due to hormonal imbalances, dysfunction of the thyroid gland, gynecological problems in women and spermatogenesis disorders in men. These pathologies are the consequences of obesity. Therefore, the first point doctors prescribe is a strict diet based on the exclusion of fatty and high-calorie foods. The following is added to therapy (depending on the individual causes of infertility):
- hormonal drugs;
- medications that improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract;
- COCs (combined hormonal oral contraceptives, if gynecological pathologies are observed);
- Drugs that support the cardiovascular system.
Gynecologists talk about the importance of losing weight. Patients with 1 degree of obesity manage to become pregnant naturally in 80% of cases by losing body weight and bringing it to normal indicators. Urologists note high sperm counts in men after losing weight and undergoing special treatment.
Pregnancy is perhaps the most valid reason to think about your own weight. Because usually, after watching enough TV programs, we experience different complexes: some consider themselves too fat, others consider themselves unbearably thin.
When you are planning to get pregnant, it is better not to listen to television advisers. Only common sense and doctor's advice. If the doctor said that for a successful pregnancy we need to go on a slight diet, we obey and sit down. On a diet, of course. If he is convinced that you are too thin to conceive, and your reproductive organs are small to give birth to a child, we carry out prevention. But Mother Nature turns out to be wiser than us. Among my friends there were very curvy girls and very elegant ones - both of them have been happy mothers of daughters and sons for several years now. So it's time to get upset ahead of schedule no use. Let's get ready.
What is the ideal weight to conceive?
There is an interesting method for determining weight. The index will help determine the optimal weight, or rather the ratio of height and weight. And it’s easy to calculate it using the formula: body weight (kg) needs to be divided by the square of your height in meters. Do you remember from mathematics? A square, the second power, is a number multiplied by itself. If the index value is in the range of 25-29 units, the doctor is right: it’s time to go on a diet. There is a slight excess weight. Obesity can be stated only for those whose index exceeds 30. For those mothers who consider themselves thin, we inform you: when the weight index is 18.5 - 24, the weight is considered normal. And, in principle, there should be no problems with conceiving and bearing a child.Ideal weight according to WHO
In general, the above methodology is very similar to that proposed by the World Health Organization. According to their method, if the index is less than 16, we can talk about a weight deficit, and even if the values reach 18.49, the situation is not much better. Ideally o normal weight we can say if the index is more than 18.5 and less than 25. Obesity according to this method is divided into several degrees, and the most critical situation is if the index reading is more than 40.The effect of excess weight on fertility
If high or low weight meant a 100% diagnosis, it would be terrible. But if a woman decides to give birth to a child and is ready for small feats, doctors can help her. She will almost certainly be able to carry a child. It is no coincidence that psychologists say: many diseases are in our heads. The strength to realize our goals and dreams also lies there.Does weight affect your ability to conceive (the medical term is fertility)? In general, no. Although it adds difficulties with bearing a child.
If it were just a matter of weight... But still, it’s worth listening to the opinion of doctors. They say that when you are overweight, the body produces more estrogen than is normally needed. In fact, this can cause problems during conception. If you take care of yourself, your health internal organs– your chances of getting pregnant are the same as others. It is believed that polycystic disease is a common disease associated with excess weight. But if you take care of your health, everything will be fine.
Low weight and infertility
Lack of weight and a fragile physique also put you at risk. And the risk of infertility in this case is also high. Experts believe that an excessively low body mass index is almost synonymous with infertility. But let’s not push our body to extremes. Knowing this, you need to take care of this long before pregnancy. It is worth getting examined to find out the causes of weight loss. Perhaps, with a competent approach, under the guidance of a doctor, this problem can also be overcome and increase your chances of bearing a healthy child.What is the ideal weight for men to conceive?
Most often, women are concerned about their weight. And researchers mainly conduct research on women's issues. But it turns out that excess or deficiency of weight in men may well be the cause of infertility in this couple.With obesity in men, metabolic disorders also occur, the quantity and quality of sperm decreases. Fat in the abdominal area is especially dangerous. It is said to cause the scrotum to overheat. And this has a detrimental effect on sperm motility. Thus, any excess or deficiency is immediately reflected in our hormonal balance. Therefore, if the spouses decide to have a child, both will have to take care of themselves and put their health in order.
The problem of excess weight in modern society very relevant. And if you look around, you can see a lot of people who are overweight. For the fair sex overweight– this is not only the inability to wear a beautiful and tight-fitting outfit, but also a number of problems that have a negative impact on health, including reproductive health. Therefore, many women are often interested in whether excess weight prevents them from getting pregnant?
The concept of ideal weight in reproductive medicine is not at all the notorious 90/60/90 and 50 kg. This is the optimal body weight for conceiving and carrying a child. It is worth understanding that underweight also negatively affects the reproductive health of the expectant mother.
In medicine, there is a diagnostic and calculation method for determining body mass index. The formula for determining BMI is as follows: BMI=body weight in kg/height in. For example, let’s make a calculation for a girl with a height of 160 cm and a weight of 50 kg. The body mass index will be as follows: 50/1.6*1.6=19.53.
Now regarding the interpretation of the calculation results. Ideal weight for successful conception it should be as close as possible to the standard indicators - 18-25. From our calculation it is clear that BMI = 19.53 is within the range of normative indicators. This means that women with such parameters will not experience difficulties in conceiving, of course, if we are not talking about other factors that prevent pregnancy.
Is there always a need to lose weight?
First of all, it is necessary to determine the cause of excess weight. It is always worth understanding that a high BMI is not always the result of obesity. Sometimes excess weight is swelling that occurs as a result of the individual characteristics of the body, or is a consequence of a number of diseases.
In the case of individual physiological characteristics, when observed high rate BMI and body proportions are maintained. Such changes can be observed in girls who are actively involved in sports and have a well-developed muscular system and dense bone tissue.
Be that as it may, having borderline BMI values, it is important to take into account the proportionality of the physique. Muscle has a denser structure compared to fatty tissue, and, as a result, their “contribution” to the total body weight will be much more significant.
The normal fat percentage is considered to be between 17 and 25%. And if BMI exceeds standard indicators, but the quantitative proportion of fat is within the range of 17-25%, then losing weight is not at all a necessary measure for successful conception.
How can excess body weight affect conception?
How does being overweight prevent you from getting pregnant? During numerous medical research It has been proven that body weight plays an important role in regulating the normal balance in the body of the expectant mother. It is worth understanding that it is not the weight itself that plays a role, but the quantitative proportion of fat in the body.
So, for example, a girl with broad bones will have a body weight that will fluctuate between 65-70 kg, but most likely, even if she is short, there will be no excess fat in her body. Whereas a girl with an asthenic physique and the same body weight would benefit from losing a few kilograms for the normal functioning of her reproductive system.
Based on clinical studies, doctors found that subcutaneous fatty tissue is essentially a huge endocrine organ, which also produces hormones.
Obesity is a disease caused by improper work endocrine system. This means that fat in the body begins to be produced from carbohydrates, accumulating in the subcutaneous layer.
Sex hormones and obesity
The maturation of an egg ready for fertilization and the success of its attachment process after conception also occurs under the influence of sex hormones. From this it becomes clear and quite logical that when estrogens and progestogens do not work together, the chances of successful conception are reduced.
You can determine whether excess weight is the reason for the impossibility of natural conception by looking at the existing hormonal imbalance. Under the influence of sex hormones, all processes preceding fertilization of the egg and implantation of the fertilized egg to the wall of the uterus are regulated.
Through hormones, ovulation occurs, the reproductive cell moves through the fallopian tubes, and the full functioning of the corpus luteum and endometrium, the inner layer of the uterus, is ensured.
Hormonal imbalance can negatively affect your ability to conceive. In turn, adipose tissue influences the synthesis of sex hormones. If it is in excess or, conversely, in deficiency, then a hormonal imbalance occurs and ovulation occurs, and, as a result, conception may not take place.
Obesity and infertility
Oddly enough, many doctors associate excess weight and infertility as 2 complementary phenomena. It should be understood that you can only talk about infertility after a year of unsuccessful attempts to get pregnant.
Indeed, very often overweight women cannot conceive a child, which, according to experts, is associated with a hormonal imbalance that develops against the background of obesity. But it is impossible to say unequivocally that this is precisely the reason for the lack of possibility of full conception. Only through a series of clinical studies can the real cause of infertility be determined.
Risks
It has been proven that women with 2nd and 3rd degree obesity experience disturbances in the menstrual cycle and ovulatory processes. In any case, you can only determine your chances of successful conception with any degree of obesity by undergoing a series of clinical and laboratory examinations.
At the same time, even a slight excess in BW can negatively affect the process of bearing a child, physically exhausting the expectant mother. Not to mention the fact that there may be serious deviations from standard indicators regarding the usefulness of the process of bearing a child.
Pregnancy with excess weight often becomes a high-risk pregnancy:
- high blood pressure;
- swelling;
- varicose veins;
- problems in the functioning of the cardiovascular system.
And these are not all the complications that can await an expectant mother during pregnancy with obesity.
Fighting excess weight for conception
At the stage of pregnancy planning, with a high BMI, it is advisable for a woman to get her shape in order. To do this, experts recommend adhering to the following tips:
- Proper nutrition. The balance of BJU in the diet will help normalize the functioning of the endocrine system and replenish the supply of nutritional components in the body of the expectant mother. You need to lose weight slowly - no more than 500 grams per week - otherwise rapid weight loss will negatively affect the functioning of the hormonal system.
- Motor activity. It doesn't have to be a grueling workout. Moderate physical activity is quite enough: fitness, swimming, jogging, cycling, etc. You need to do little by little, gradually increasing the intensity of the exercises.
Bottom line
And at the end of this publication, I would like to summarize: it has been proven that for pregnant women with a high body mass index, the risks of developing intrauterine anomalies in the fetus increase by 2-3 times. At the same time, it is extremely difficult to determine developmental defects from a physiological point of view, which is due to the thickened layer of subcutaneous fat. Consequently, some serious problems may be overlooked and measures may not be taken to provide appropriate assistance in a timely manner. Take care of yourself!
In this case, it makes sense to undergo an examination in order to identify direct and indirect causes of infertility. Sometimes the examination reveals factors that, it would seem, do not have a direct impact on a woman’s ability to become pregnant. So, in particular, women often wonder whether excess weight affects conception and ovulation, and how this happens.
It is a well-known fact that excess weight is not only unsightly, but can also cause various diseases. The easiest way to determine whether a woman is overweight is to subtract 110 from her height in centimeters. The resulting figure is the ideal weight for a given height. Exceeding the normal weight limit by more than 20% becomes a serious cause for alarm. There is a formula for calculating body mass index. To obtain the body mass index, you need to divide your body weight in kilograms by the square of your height in meters. If the resulting index ranges from 20 to 25, then the weight is normal, above 25 - overweight, above 30 - these are already signs of obesity.
There is no direct relationship between a woman’s ability to get pregnant and her weight. There are many examples of overweight women giving birth to several children without any problems. And vice versa, when women with an ideal weight cannot get pregnant for years. And, nevertheless, there is every reason to believe that a woman’s excess weight can be an indirect cause of infertility. There are a number of facts to support this opinion.
Overweight women are much more likely to experience menstrual irregularities under the influence of an endocrine factor, which leads to infertility. Often, reducing excess weight by at least 10% leads to normalization of the menstrual cycle.
Excess weight disrupts the balance of sex hormones in a woman’s body, which in turn directly affects conception and ovulation. For example, female sex hormones (estrogens and progesterones) regulate the ovulation process. During the process of ovulation, the egg matures. Progesterones prepare a woman’s body to accept a mature egg, and estrogens, in turn, control progesterones. Fat cells activate production and accumulation large quantity estrogens, the excess of which blocks progesterones. As a result, ovulation is disrupted and the egg does not mature.
Estrogens accumulated in fat deposits send signals to the pituitary gland in the brain, which produces FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) about its excess. As a result, FSH production decreases, which disrupts ovarian function and ovulation.
In addition, an increased level of estrogen in a woman’s body creates a risk of the formation of various types of tumors, such as fibroids and uterine fibroids, which is also often the cause of infertility.
Another unpleasant consequence of excess estrogen in the body of an overweight woman is endometriosis of the uterus (overgrowth of the lining of the uterus). As a result of hormonal disorders, the uterine lining is not completely shed during menstruation, which negatively affects ovulation and, as a result, leads to infertility.
The consequence of excess weight in a woman can be a disease such as polycystic ovary syndrome. Hormonal imbalance in a woman’s body leads to the accumulation of partially mature eggs in the ovaries, which again leads to disruption of the menstrual cycle. With polycystic disease, the ovaries increase the production of androgen hormones, the accumulation of which slows down ovulation, often ovulation may stop completely. Polycystic ovary syndrome is more common in women over 30 years of age who already have children, and can cause secondary infertility.
In addition to hormonal imbalances, excess weight can cause other physiological changes in a woman’s body, leading to infertility. Great value has a distribution of body fat. If the fat deposits are evenly distributed, this is not as fraught with consequences as the accumulation of fatty tissue in certain places woman's body. But, unfortunately, most often the majority of fat deposits are formed in a woman in the abdomen and thighs. In this case, blood flow in this area of the body is disrupted, and, accordingly, metabolism in the woman’s internal genital organs (uterus and ovaries) is disrupted. These disorders can lead to the formation of adhesions in the fallopian tubes, which directly affects their patency and is often the cause of infertility.
Excess weight is especially dangerous for girls during puberty and the formation of childbearing functions of a future woman. Hormonal imbalance during this period can have the most serious consequences. Excess weight during a girl's puberty disrupts hormonal background. Hormones, in turn, change the girl’s body structure, which can contribute to the accumulation of fat deposits. This vicious circle must be controlled precisely during the maturation period. In addition, according to experts, excess weight in adolescence promotes early puberty, and subsequently instability of the menstrual cycle and disruption of the ovulation process.
It is impossible to say in advance whether excess weight will affect conception and ovulation in each specific case. When planning a pregnancy, it is advisable to bring your body into full readiness for stress. And reducing excess weight as a way to healthy image life should be one of the first places in the process of preparing for pregnancy. However, it is completely unacceptable to exhaust your body with diets and long hours of training when planning a pregnancy. The process of losing weight should be gradual and painless for the body of the expectant mother.
According to most scientists, the most favorable conditions for conception and successful pregnancy are created when a woman has normal body weight.
Lack of weight, as well as its excess, can negatively affect female reproductive function, and given the fact that throughout the world there is a tendency to increase the number of pregnancies as a result of in vitro fertilization, there is a good reason for a detailed examination.
As you know, not every birth that occurs as a result of IVF or naturally ends in delivery. A wide variety of factors can influence its unfavorable outcome, including a woman’s overweight or underweight. As a result of scientific research, it was possible to find out that body weight plays a special role precisely at . Moreover, if overweight women's chances of successfully becoming pregnant and giving birth to a healthy child are reduced by about half, then women with very low body weight are at much greater risk. However, overweight pregnant women are at risk for developing complications during pregnancy, during childbirth and for some time after.
During the IVF procedure, the woman receives the necessary sex hormones with medication, but the risk of miscarriage may be due to the fact that the uterus is unprepared for pregnancy. Difficulties may also arise when a fertilized egg is implanted into it.
Overweight and pregnancy
If a woman is overweight, conceiving may also be difficult. Obesity is often accompanied by the development of insulin resistance, which leads to hormonal imbalances in female body. Of course, any hormonal imbalance can negatively affect reproductive function.
According to statistics, overweight women experience more difficulties during pregnancy and also have a lower chance of successful delivery and the birth of a healthy baby. In addition, in the course of research, scientists have found that obese women are more likely to experience premature birth.
How is optimal body weight calculated?
Optimal weight is calculated using the so-called body mass index, which depends on a person’s height and weight. Indicators of absolutely normal and healthy weight are between 18.5 and 25. Accordingly, an index value below this norm will indicate underweight, and above - overweight. Neither overweight nor underweight are absolute contraindications to IVF, but certain measures may need to be taken to increase the chances of success.
As a rule, we can talk about serious risks during conception if the body mass index of a woman preparing to become a mother is 30 or higher. With, as well as natural conception, it makes sense to lose weight, which will significantly increase the chances of a successful pregnancy outcome. Moreover, it is worth understanding that losing weight in in this case cannot be done with any extreme diets. Ideally, you should consult with a qualified nutritionist who will give competent advice not only on losing weight, but also on gaining weight, if necessary.
Weight gain during pregnancy
Weight gain during pregnancy always depends on the woman’s previous weight. Of course, some of the weight is gained due to developing fetus and amniotic fluid, the rest is the woman's fat deposits, which are necessary to conserve energy for subsequent breastfeeding.
It is difficult to identify any specific recommendations regarding the issue of weight gain during pregnancy. We can say that it is advisable for overweight women to try to gain as little as possible, while thin expectant mothers can practically not limit themselves and gain about 13-18 kilograms. Women with average weight should stick to the figure of 11-16 kilograms. It is very important that a woman’s body receives a sufficient amount of essential nutrients throughout pregnancy, therefore, regarding proper nutrition It is better to consult a specialist.
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