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Should I Go For Abortion Or Concentrate On Losing Weight?

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Posted on Thu, 16 Jan 2014
Question: Hi, My wife is one month pregnant and this has happened due to contrceptive failure. She is 31yrs of age and weighs 75 kgs. She had joined a gym and has a personal trainer who is helping her in loosing weight. We had thought that it would be imp to loose 10-15 kgs before planning a pregnancy. She had got pregnant last year also but due to some crisis in family we took a decision to abort the pregnancy. With this unplanned pregnancy we are now confused. Should she abort it and concentrate on first loosing weight?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Shanti Vennam (1 hour later)
Brief Answer: Please check on the status of pregnancy first. Detailed Answer: Hello Mr. XXXXXXX Thanks for posting your query. Firstly, let me congratulate you on this pregnancy. It is a boon indeed for a natural pregnancy to happen taking into consideration the several couples we see everyday who strive so hard to achieve at least one pregnancy in a life-time. Now, coming to the contraceptive failure, please let me know what type of contraceptives you were using; it is because failure of barrier methods does not harm the pregnancy while oral pill failure may have a certain impact if not detected early on in pregnancy. As to the weight-loss program, if the body mass index is within reasonable limits, your wife may not face any difficulty with pregnancy and labor. Moreover, it is the pelvic shape that matters more here. A BMI of up to 27,28 without much of pelvic fat should be comfortable. In my personal opinion, if the pregnancy status is good, it would be wise to continue with the pregnancy. Since she already had an induced abortion, another similar thing may lead to habitual abortions in future. The maintenance of weight can be done even after child-birth and it would be more useful then. Please consult your health care provider also and take suggestions. Hope I have answered your query. Please feel free to contact for any more information. I will be ready to help. regards, Shanti.V.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Shanti Vennam (2 hours later)
Thank you doctor. My wife's BMI is around 31. Contraceptive failure was due to failure of barrier methods. She has never taken any pills. We are also keen to pursue this pregnancy keeping in mind age etc, however just worried about her being overweight. Can she continue light gym like treadmill etc for the first few months?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Shanti Vennam (4 hours later)
Brief Answer: Heavy exercise is not recommended in pregnancy. Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for your feedback. Since the pregnancy is not due to failed hormonal contraception, there is no need to worry about after effects. Heavy exercise like treadmill is not recommended especially in early pregnancy as it may lead to pregnancy failure. Though the BMI is more, it need not lead to any pregnancy complications provided there are no other medical complaints like diabetes or hypertension. Proper monitoring, care of diet, increased intake of fresh fruits and vegetables and avoidance of fatty food and sweets, help to maintain a proper weight throughout pregnancy. If the weight gain that is natural during pregnancy is maintained, there will not be any excess gain and the weight-loss program may be taken up after child birth. Hope I have answered your query. Please contact for further information. I will be happy to help. regards, Shanti.V.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Shanti Vennam (13 hours later)
Thank you doctor. Also one more thing I forget to mention. Before we came to know of this pregnancy, just last week my wife got her vitamin d3 test done and her levels are just 9 ng/ml. Her doctor suggested three vit d injections (arachitol-3L 7.5 mg) one every week for 3 weeks followed by calciferol XXXXXXX for 8 weeks. With the pregnancy, should she take these injections or the sachets or can she take a pill? With such low bit vit d will it affect growth of baby or cause problems to her? What should we do?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Shanti Vennam (6 hours later)
Brief Answer: Better to avoid Arachitol as safety is not known. Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for writing back. It is true that levels below 20 ng/ml. need to be considered low and treated. Also, low levels of vitamin D are observed when the BMI is more than 30. Use of pure vegetarian diet and lack of exposure to sunlight lead to the deficiency. Low levels are associated with the risk of intra-uterine growth retardation. The safety of Arachitol has not been established in pregnancy and the use is left to the discretion of your obstetrician; animal studies have shown teratogenecity. Also, it would be better if use of calcium supplements can be postponed until 12 weeks of pregnancy. So, in the current scenario, please try to improve the levels by nutritional means and sunlight; supplements may be added a little later. Oral medications would usually be suggested. Increase the intake of milk, milk products with low fat, greens, fish products, dates etc. which are rich in calcium. The supplements given later should be sufficient to correct the defect and should cause no further complication in pregnancy. Hope I have answered your query. Please contact for further information. I will be available to help. regards, Shanti.V.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Shanti Vennam (1 hour later)
Thank you doctor! Uve been great help!
doctor
Answered by Dr. Shanti Vennam (2 hours later)
Brief Answer: You are always free to contact us. Detailed Answer: Hello Mr. XXXXXXX Thanks for your feedback. You can contact me for any more information and I will try to answer to the best of my knowledge. Wish your wife a successful pregnancy and safe motherhood. best wishes, Shanti.V.
Note: Revert back with your gynae reports to get a clear medical analysis by our expert Gynecologic Oncologist. Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Shanti Vennam

OBGYN

Practicing since :1989

Answered : 7667 Questions

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Should I Go For Abortion Or Concentrate On Losing Weight?

Brief Answer: Please check on the status of pregnancy first. Detailed Answer: Hello Mr. XXXXXXX Thanks for posting your query. Firstly, let me congratulate you on this pregnancy. It is a boon indeed for a natural pregnancy to happen taking into consideration the several couples we see everyday who strive so hard to achieve at least one pregnancy in a life-time. Now, coming to the contraceptive failure, please let me know what type of contraceptives you were using; it is because failure of barrier methods does not harm the pregnancy while oral pill failure may have a certain impact if not detected early on in pregnancy. As to the weight-loss program, if the body mass index is within reasonable limits, your wife may not face any difficulty with pregnancy and labor. Moreover, it is the pelvic shape that matters more here. A BMI of up to 27,28 without much of pelvic fat should be comfortable. In my personal opinion, if the pregnancy status is good, it would be wise to continue with the pregnancy. Since she already had an induced abortion, another similar thing may lead to habitual abortions in future. The maintenance of weight can be done even after child-birth and it would be more useful then. Please consult your health care provider also and take suggestions. Hope I have answered your query. Please feel free to contact for any more information. I will be ready to help. regards, Shanti.V.