Obesity can affect fertility by causing hormonal imbalances and problems with ovulation, particularly for obese women having their first baby. Obesity is associated with poly-cystic oveary syndrome(PCOS), a common cause of infertility. PCOS is a common hormonal condition especially in infertile women, affecting up to one in five women of reproductive age. Early diagnosis, living a healthy lifestyle and treatment can help optimise fertility.

If a mother is obese, it increases the risk of pregnancy complications and health problems for the baby. Risks associated with obesity in pregnancy include miscarriage, hypertension, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes etc.

Babies born to overweight or obese mothers are more likely than those born to healthy-weight mothers to become obese children and adults, and to have more health problems.

The figures about women, weight and fertility

• Women who are overweight or obese have less chance of getting pregnant overall. They are also more likely than women of healthy weight to take more than a year to get pregnant.
• The risk of pre-eclampsia doubles in overweight women and triples in obese women. Overweight women have twice the risk of gestational (pregnancy – related) diabetes and obese women eight times the risk, compared with women of healthy weight.
• A woman who is obese is more than twice as likely to have a miscarriage as a woman of healthy weight. There is twice the risk that her baby will not survive.
• Infants born to obese women are more likely to be large for their age, need neonatal intensive care or have a congenital abnormality.