August 23, 2010Berlin (Deutsche Presse-Agentur) - Overweight women are advised to lose some weight if they want to have a safe pregnancy, according to a German health organization.
Overweight and adipose women are more prone to irregular menstruation and infertility than women of normal weight, reports the German Society for Sports Medicine and Prevention (DGSP).
Women who lose four to 10 kilograms over the course of six months improve their chances of getting pregnant by 80 per cent, says Ulrike Korsten-Reck of the DGSP.
Additionally, such weight loss reduces the rate of failed pregnancies from 75 to 18 per cent.
"A programme with a change of diet and physical activity is 60 times more cost-effective than a traditional fertility treatment," says Korsten-Reck. Being physically active also makes giving birth easier.
Recommended activities for pregnant women include hiking, walking, jogging, Nordic walking and gymnastics. Experts only recommend swimming in water heated to between 20 and 33 degrees Celsius.
Copyright 2010 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
