Obesity and Childbearing: Could You Be Hurting Your Baby With Too Much Of A Good Thing?

Reproduction is a necessity for the continuing of every species and in order to reproduce, one must eat. However, the old saying “eating for two” while pregnant could be doing more harm than good. In America today, obesity is a much larger problem than ever before. According to Alison Steube, M.D., many women are gaining too much weight during pregnancy, which can lead to complications for both mom and baby. But, what is too much weight? Dr. Steube, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, says it’s “35 pounds or more for a woman with a normal body mass index, or BMI. Gaining too much weight is linked with… higher odds that both mom and child will be obese later in life.”

Dr. Garrett Lam, who serves as the Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona says “Obesity affects pregnancy in profound ways.” He discusses some of the complications that can occur during pregnancy. He mentions that ultrasound technicians have a harder time dating pregnancies and getting a good look at the fetus if the mother is obese. This means due dates and trimesters may be inaccurate. Also, Dr. Lam says, “It not only increases the risk for underlying diseases such as preeclampsia and diabetes, but it can even lead to… fetal defects such as spina bifida.” Laci Brown who is a Licensed Practical Nurse in Labor & Delivery at Jackson County Memorial Hospital in Altus, Oklahoma, says the most common complication during the birth is shoulder dystocia. “The baby comes down and the mother has enough skin that it’s hard to do a maneuver where you put your fist into the pelvis to remove the shoulder below the pelvis and we end up calling it a turtle baby. So we end up having to go for an emergency C-section to get the child out.”

The obesity rate in the United States has risen to dangerous proportions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one in three American adults are obese and “17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2-19 years are obese.” Oklahoma is below the national average for population obesity, but not by much with a 30.4% obesity rate.

What does all of this really mean? James L. Lindsey, M.D., found in his research that “A meta-analysis of 96 population-based studies found that maternal overweight and obesity was the highest-ranking modifiable risk for stillbirth.” In addition, he says that preexisting diabetes and hypertension are also important contributors to stillbirth. This is important because hypertension, or abnormally high blood pressure, is a major part of preeclampsia, which was mentioned above.

So what can be done to ensure maintenance of a healthy weight during pregnancy? Keeping up with a regular exercise routine which can be modified in intensity as the pregnancy progresses is important. The most important factor, however, is diet. Amanda Doyle, a Junior in Nutrition at the University of Oklahoma, says, “Pregnant women need to eat a high fiber diet that includes at least five servings of fruits and vegetables. They also need to eat a higher level of folic acid so that the baby’s spine develops properly. They should stay away from processed foods that are made with a lot of additives, as well as caffeine.” Also, it is never too early after the child is born to begin preventing obesity and instill it in their mind at a young age. Chancie Robbins, who is a mother of three, explained that she “always encourages her children to do activities outside and if it’s too hot or they just want to play a video game, I will only allow them to play on a Wii console, so that they are still being active.”

So there you have it, American moms, eat well and encourage activity so you and your child can avoid becoming part of the statistic. 

In and Around University of Oklahoma's Gaylord Hall

“The Definition of Marriage”: Do you know?

On September 9, 2011 a man on a mission for a controversial issue visited the University of Oklahoma by request of the Department of Philosophy. Professor John Corvino from Wayne State University came to introduce students and faculty to the “Definition of Marriage.” Professor Corvino spoke of the argument between Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) supporters and New Natural Lawyers (NNL) regarding same-sex unions and why calling them “marriages” is such an issue.

Oklahoma does not rank in the top 10 of the United States by percentage of LGBT population. This may be due to the fact that Oklahoma is not among the states where same-sex marriage has been legalized and also does not validate same-sex marriage licenses from any other state. For this reason, Professor of Philosophy Martin Montminy and the department thought it a good idea to invite Professor Corvino to raise awareness of the debate. “The kind of issue that he addresses is not your typical, mainstream issue that philosophers like to talk about. It’s a kind of issue that we rarely discuss in philosophical circles so that was the thing that I thought was interesting.” Professor Corvino spoke to an audience of about 50 OU students and faculty.

According to the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at UCLA, an estimate of “about 5.8% of the American population identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender” as of this year. What Professor Corvino did was to take main points of both supporters of same-sex marriages and the NNL from articles and produce counterexamples. Professor Corvino himself never explicitly stated his personal association with either group. Supporters of civil unions being called marriages have a revisionist view, which says “marriage is an emotional union of two people of any sex who commit to mutual care and who may engage in whatever sexual acts they find mutually agreeable.” The NNL support a conjugal view, that “marriage is a comprehensive union between a man and a woman consummated by reproductive-type acts which unite them biologically, an thus personally.” After the lecture, Professor Corvino hosted an open question-and-answer forum to discuss some of the issues he had addressed. Philosophy Graduate Student Sammuel Robert Byer commented that he “thought Professor Corvino was extremely charitable to the articles that he was referring to and the question-and-answer section was good.”

In most states across the country that do not acknowledge same-sex marriage licenses, same-sex couples are denied certain benefits. One of those that Professor Corvino addressed was if one partner is rushed to the hospital and the other tells the staff that he or she is married to the patient, they can still be denied the opportunity to enter the room. Professor Corvino explained that the way to avoid this issue until these states acknowledge same-sex marriages is to carry a Durable Power of Attorney, in this instance for health care. Therefore, there are limited opportunities for same-sex couples to receive these benefits anyway, if they have the right materials.

Although the lecture topic was out of the ordinary for OU, for some students that just wasn’t enough. Jarred White, a senior in Multidisciplinary Studies who attended the lecture, wished there had been another expert in the room, maybe on the other side of the argument, to help tie up loose ends. “I think you could have had a more definitive, somewhat closure. Obviously, you never simply convert everyone in the room to one belief, but you can have a more complete rounding of opinions of two people who are on equal footing as far as their knowledge of a given subject.” There are frequent opportunities to listen to speakers on campus, which means that many chances for OU to find a way to better reach students about the topics that interest them.