Big Babies Born To Heavier Moms

Pregnancy Over 40 and Weight Gain

I guess it seems logical that heavy mothers have bigger babies. However, according to the article below, women with higher BMI (body mass index) do have a higher incidence of larger infants.
See Also: www.getpregnantover40.com for more information on pregnancy over 40 
There may also be a concern that women who go into a pregnancy with a heavier weight can pass insulin resistence on to their child which could lead to a lifetime of weight problems and obesity. Read more:


Lead author of "Maternal weight characteristics influence recurrence of fetal macrosomic in women with normal glucose tolerance", Rhona Mahony examines the relationship between maternal weight and recurrence of fetal macrosomia in non-diabetic women delivering a second infant following first macrosomic pregnancy and finds that increased body mass index (BMI) elevated the risk of a recurrent macrosomic pregnancy.

Out of the 111 women who delivered a first macrosomic baby, about one-third gave birth to a second macrosomic infant. These women who had a second large baby were heavier at the start of the pregnancy compared to women without recurring macrosomic babies.

Another factor that increases the risk of recurrent macrosomic pregnancy is excessive maternal weight gain during pregnancy. 

from: 
medical news today

OBESITY IN PREGNANCY AND BIRTH DEFECTS

Pregnancy, Obesity and Birth Defects

It never ceases to amaze me how much our lifestyle has an affect on our overall heath, fertility, and pregnancy outcomes. This article talks about how being obese prior to pregnancy can increase the chance of birth defects.
For more on pregnancy over 40, environmental factors, foods for fertility and more at getpregnantover40.com 
 Although the exact reasons for birth defects are unclear, the article does state that women who are obese tend to have more chronic health conditions, menstruation problems and more pregnancy complications Read more:

Mothers of babies born with some structural birth defectsincluding missing limbs, malformed hearts and underdeveloped spinal cordsappear more likely to be obese prior to becoming pregnant than mothers whose children are born without such defects, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Overweight and obese women are known to be at risk for chronic diseases, infertility, irregular menstruation and complications during pregnancy, according to background information in the article. In 2003 and 2004, about 51 percent of women aged 20 to 39 were classified as overweight or obese.

D. Kim Waller, Ph.D., of the University of Texas, Houston, and colleagues interviewed 10,249 women in eight states whose babies were born with birth defects between 1997 and 2002. The women were contacted between six weeks and 24 months after the babys birth and asked for their height and weight before pregnancy, along with other demographic and medical information. These women were compared with 4,065 women who had babies without birth defects during the same time period.

Mothers of babies with the following seven of 16 birth defects were more likely to be obese than mothers of infants without birth defects
 from news.bio-medicine.org