High BMI Preventing Fertility Treatment?

June 2 2013 8:44pm

high bmi scales

If you have a high Body Mass Index (BMI) you will be aware that this factor can sometimes have an adverse effect on your chances of conceiving. BMI is calculated by a person’s weight being divided by the square of their height.

You may have already found that some clinics are not willing to treat patients with a BMI over 35. This may be because more complex surgery is needed which presents medical risks to the patient.

At Concept Fertility we are aware of the issues of a high BMI and are aware that there can be many reasons for this:

PCOS

In PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) the ovaries are generally bigger than average. The outer surface of the ovary has an abnormally large number of small follicles (the sac of fluid that grows around the egg under the influence of stimulating hormones from the brain).

In PCOS, these follicles remain immature, never growing to full development or ovulating to produce an egg capable of being fertilised. For the woman, this means that she rarely ovulates and so is less fertile. In addition, she doesn’t have regular periods and may go for many weeks without one. Other features of the condition are excess weight and body hair.

If affects up to 10 per cent of all women between the ages of 15 and 50 and is particularly common among women with ovulation problems (an incidence of about 75 per cent).

Lifestyle

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) having a high BMI can be defined as:

The fundamental cause of obesity and being overweight is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended. Globally, there has been:

an increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat; and an increase in physical inactivity due to the increasingly sedentary nature of many forms of work, changing modes of transportation, and increasing urbanization.

At Concept we are happy to discuss how we can help and support you to reduce your BMI, whilst treating your fertility straight away.

Concept Fertility will work with you to check your current fertility. Once this is established through a series of tests, we can plan a course of action to help you (and your partner) lose weight in a supportive and helpful environment.

We are aware that there may be complex emotional factors concerning your BMI, such as stress and comfort eating that need to be discussed whilst you begin your journey towards parenthood. Weight issues associated with PCOS also have to be managed in an effective way. 50-60% of PCOS sufferers are considered clinically obese and standard weight loss programmes may not be effective.

At our Putney clinic we work with nutritionists and physical therapists who can plan a treatment programme with you to support your pre conception needs, both physically and emotionally. They will work with you to compliment the fertility treatment that Concept Fertility will provide. Whilst IVF is not advisable for patients with a BMI over 35 there are other fertility options available as you are working towards lowering your weight, such as ovulation induction and IUI. We will arrange for you to meet with a support team to help you achieve and maintain a healthy BMI whilst we start your fertility programme.

Please contact Concept Fertility on 020 3388 3000 to arrange an Initial Consultation and find out more about how we can help.

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