More information needed for obese expectant mothers

Some 44 per cent of maternity units in the UK do not have local guidelines for the care and management of women with obesity, new findings reveal.

The survey conducted by the Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries also found that only 18 per cent of maternity units currently provide printed information for women specifically focused on the issue of obesity and pregnancy.

Sarah Montagu, spokesperson for the Association of Radical Midwives, said: "It is probably is the case that there is an increase in obesity, and because it is identified as a risk, in some ways it can contribute to better care.

"If you are obese the risks of a caesarean sector are higher because if general anaesthetic is needed it is harder to administer, and it is harder to do an epidural on someone who is obese."

A recent report commissioned by GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare suggested that waist measurement is regarded as the best clinical indicator of excess visceral fat and, therefore, the best predictor of weight-related risk.

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