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\nYour weight \u2014 whether too high or too low \u2014 can affect your ability to get pregnant. Being overweight or underweight can also cause problems during your pregnancy. Reaching a healthy weight can help you get pregnant and improve your chances of a healthy pregnancy and baby.
\nExtra weight can make it hard for you to get pregnant. For example, polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, is one of the most common reasons for infertility in women and can also cause obesity. Overweight and obesity affect fertility by:1\">1
\nIf you are underweight (your BMI is 18.5 or less), you may have problems getting pregnant. Being underweight can cause your body to stop making estrogen. This can cause irregular menstrual cycles. You may stop ovulating and getting your period. This is especially true if you are losing weight because you are not eating enough or because you are exercising too much, which may be signs of an eating disorder like anorexia nervosa.
\nIn order to get pregnant, you need to ovulate or release an egg from the ovary so it can be fertilized by a man\u2019s sperm. Then your body needs to be able to support a developing baby in the womb.
\nYes. Every woman is different, but studies show that for women who have overweight or obesity, losing weight raised their chances of getting pregnant. Losing weight also helped menstrual cycles return to normal.1\">1 Talk to your doctor or nurse about how to lose weight safely.
\nWomen who need to gain weight before getting pregnant should gain weight gradually and talk to their doctor or nurse about how to gain weight safely.
\nHow much weight you should gain during pregnancy depends on your body mass index (BMI) before getting pregnant.
\nIf you have:2\">2
\nTalk to your doctor, nurse, or midwife about how much weight is safe to gain during pregnancy.
\nHaving overweight or obesity during pregnancy raises your risk for problems during pregnancy. Also, even if you do not have overweight or obesity, gaining more weight than recommended can cause the same problems.
\nThese include:
\nTalk to your doctor, nurse, or midwife about healthy weight gain during pregnancy to help lower your risk for these health problems.
\nLearn more about pregnancy complications.
\nBabies born to mothers with overweight or obesity are at higher risk for health problems, including:3\">3
\nBabies born to mothers who are underweight (women with BMIs lower than 18.5) are at higher risk for health problems, including:4\">4
\nFor more information about weight, fertility, and pregnancy, call the OWH Helpline at 1-800-994-9662 or check out the following resources from other organizations:
\nThis content is provided by the Office on Women's Health.
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