A DRAMATIC spike in the number of obese women giving birth has led to a Victorian-first maternity clinic being established in Melbourne’s west.
Doctors believe the Sunshine Hospital service will dramatically reduce the risks associated with births involving significantly overweight mothers.
Latest figures from Western Health reveal that 23 per cent of women who give birth at Sunshine are obese; 43 per cent are above a healthy weight and 0.6 per cent are extremely obese with a body mass index (BMI) of more than 50.
BMI is an estimate of fat based on an individual’s weight and height. A healthy BMI for an adult is between 18.5 and 24.9.
The permanent clinic treats more than 30 women a week, most of them weighing more than 150 kilograms. Western Health’s director of clinical services for women and children, Associate Professor Glyn Teale, said demand for the service was so high that the threshold for women treated by the service had to be increased.
He said Brimbank, Melton and Werribee were obesity ‘hotspots’, with much higher average BMIs for pregnant women than elsewhere in Victoria.
“It is not uncommon for me to see three or four women with a BMI of over 50 in one clinic session,” Associate Professor Teale said.
“When you’re giving birth with a BMI over 40 and it’s your first pregnancy, you have less than a 50 per cent chance of giving birth naturally. You’re also twice as likely to have a stillbirth.”
Associate Professor Teale said obese women were also at increased risk of gestational diabetes and required close monitoring.
Eight to 10 antenatal visits are recommended for a woman in the healthy weight range facing a low-risk pregnancy, but the clinic treats obese women up to 25 times before they give birth.
“The focus of the clinic is on weight stabilisation and close monitoring rather than weight loss,” Associate Professor Teale said. “The usual tests are less helpful when dealing with a woman with an extreme BMI. A scan on a slim woman will produce an estimate of a baby’s weight. A scan on an obese woman becomes more of a ‘guesstimate’.”
Tarneit’s Julie-Ann Elliot, 41, is one of the women undergoing treatment at clinic. Her baby boy is due on June 12.
“I was really upset at the start of my pregnancy and worried about the effects my weight and age could have on my baby,” she said.
“But after being referred to the Sunshine Hospital clinic I feel like I am in safe hands. All the staff are so kind and non-judgmental and don’t make you feel bad about your weight.
“They do their best to ensure you’re looking after yourself and your baby, eating healthily and getting enough fluids.”
Midwife Karyn Smith works with women to provide advice on healthy eating, exercise and breastfeeding, and she looks for signs of depression.
“A lot of the women we see have co-morbidities like diabetes, hypertension, thyroid problems, sleep apnoea and depression. They requite a more complex level of care including intensive family and community supports.”
