Strollerderby

She's lucky she didn't develop gestational diabetes (usually results in BIG babies along with the health problems for her) or preeclampsia.

If you ever catch "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant" on Discovery Health (they love to show that program), that is a consistent problem with a lot of the women.  Many of them are obese resulting in hormonal problems that would normally leave them infertile leading to them not taking precautionary measures to prevent pregnancy (if they do not want kids) and quite surprised when they go into labor.

Her weight would normally preclude conception because most Russian men are too poor to afford a map and a compass.

I'm glad everyone is ok, though a four pound baby sounds a little light/malnourished.  If she cared about weight, that could be a little demoralizing.  I mean, it was always nice to know that eight or nine pounds of my weight gain was due to the baby!  ;-)  I wonder if "preclude conception" meant they didn't think anyone would have sex with her, but when questioned they couldn't actually say that.

Wow, some of these comments are very unkind. Being fat doesn't make a person less worthy of respect or compassion. Can't we all just be happy that mom and baby are doing well? Geez.

@Sara:  I completely agree; unkind, prejudiced (against people who are overweight and also against Russians). It's appalling, really.

Wow. Nice to see that this website is turning into a place where people feel free to be assholes, just like the rest of the internet.

Go parents!

Come now.  One comment (Sue) was pretty snarky.  Where do you all (most recent three comments) get off saying this place is turning into a bunch of assholes?  Wow.  Are you the PC police?  "Everyone is beautiful, blah blah blah?"  Seriously, though, if I weighed 550 pounds I think I'd be a little worried about getting pregnant.  I was 150 pounds when I got pregnant and my doctor lectured me about the "dangers" of being overweight (my ideal weight, apparently, is around 130.)  So.  It's not CRAZY to think this is a little off the wall.

Funny, I'm thin and developed both gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia.  It's almost enough to make you think there isn't a direct correlation between the mother's weight and the health of her baby.

Yeah, I knew I'd take some crap for my comment. I just lack self control, I guess.

What a gross thing to say, Sue.

I would point out that often the weight is the result of hormonal and other problems and not always the other way around. Many of the assertions made about overweight women and pregnancy are based on ill-informed bias. I have PCOS, consistently low blood sugar and a family history of type 2 diabetes. For those reasons, I was monitored closely for signs of gestational diabetes. I am, by any standard, obese, but that was not the cause of my gestational diabetes. My weight, like the gestational diabetes, is largely a consequence of health conditions and family history. It is not possible for a casual observer to know the circumstances of another person's life and insensitive to make assumptions. Please consider the pain that is inflicted (intentionally or not) every time weight is considered before other factors.

I got so distracted by the comments that I forgot to ask... What is the sculpture depicted in the photograph above?

And yet no one took offense at the photo posted with the article ;)

looks kinda like this sue anythinghollywood.com

OK.  Point taken.  Sue's comment was really the only mean one...bbbmom's comment; I don't know how to categorize it.  Jerkiness couched in (maybe) fake concern?  Whatever.  

What's with the PC police stuff though? If Sue can make fat jokes, it's perfectly reasonable to call her on it, isn't it? I realize that sainthood is not automatic (or even desirable) for parents, but it seems to me that cheap, hurtful shots (though removed from the target and in a private/adult sphere)are kind of...distasteful.  I am, however, in the throes of brand-spanking new parenthood (one month today) so maybe I'll think differently once I've got more time under my belt. I hope not, though.  Fat jokes are shitty.

I tend to ignore comments like Sue's. I teach my kids that if they can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. That's my approach to Sue.

This type of situation may have been unusual in Russia but in the US recently pregnant women weighing in excess of 450lbs aren’t that uncommon. While getting pregnant and carrying full term may be more difficult for obese women, many do have perfectly healthy babies. I’m a father of three girls and my wife weighed over 500lbs during pregnancy for all three of our children. All three births were normal and all three girls were healthy. Granted they were somewhat rough pregnancies but if you have the right prenatal care and the proper precautions are observed a healthy birth can be achieved. Probably one of the biggest problems occurring during a pregnancy such as this, is the logistical accommodations the hospital and birthing team must perform to handle a woman of such size. As in the case of my wife, normal size delivery tables could not support her and a special table, stirrups and bariatric hoist were required. Luckily this type of specialty equipment is readily available in many major US hospitals and it wasn’t a big problem.

Sue, I laughed.