I also find it deeply
unsatisfactory because we know that breastfeeding is the way to avoid obesity
and yet we don't promote bf as part of the package. There's no mention in this
of whether or not the mothers or children were bf to WHO
guidelines.
I would really hate us
to go back to those days of obsessive weighing of women & them dreading
the weekly pregnancy check because they'd be 'told off' for gaining weight.
Some women even used it as an excuse not to attend pregnancy checks at all,
especially the bigger women who we know are high risk.
Those were awful times
where women were treated like naughty girls instead of responsible women who
ought to be deciding (with the appropriate info) what's best for the
health of themselves & their baby.
There is always a
'policeman' with the weighing system, usually it's the weigher (ie the
midwife) & no one likes them, it's very bad for mother/midwife
rapport.
Educating the mothers
re healthy diets is the key as that's why they gained the excess weight
initially during pregnancy, (unhealthy eating patterns) unless they
were underweight when they became pregnant ( very common with the 'lolly-pop'
look nowadays). So they need education about healthy food choices after
weaning from the breast for their children.
Just my 2c worth, I
hated with a passion hearing women worrying about:
'putting on too much weight, the doctor will tell me off'.
It's soooo demeaning ! They
aren't naughty school girls & it reinforces that patriarchal "doctor
is God' handing down sentences & orders triad.
PREGNANT women who gain
too much weight under the guise of "eating for two" may be
guaranteeing their children have a lifelong battle with
obesity.
Two studies that will be published in next week's New
Scientist journal found women who gain too much weight during
pregnancy are far more likely to have overweight or obese children.
One study, from a team at Harvard University in the US, found that
even women who followed their doctor's advice and gained a "safe"
amount of weight were still likely to have overweight children.
The Harvard study divided 770 expectant mothers into three groups -
those who gained an "inadequate", "adequate" and "excessive" amount of
weight - based on the US Institute of Medicine's guidelines that women
should gain between 12kg and 16kg.
Children born to women who gained an adequate or excessive amount
of weight were, on average, already overweight by the age of three.
"Only the inadequate group - a weight gain of less than 11.5kg -
gives a result that is where you want to be," Harvard University
researcher Matthew Gillman said.
Researchers believe that during gestation the baby's metabolism -
including the hunger and satiety signals that tell people when to stop
eating - is still developing and babies become accustomed to having
too much food.
Julie Owens, a researcher at the University of Adelaide's centre
for reproductive health, said that while there was no exact guide to
how much weight a women should gain, it was important women did not
use pregnancy as an excuse to overeat.
