What to do about being weighed at the doctor during pregnancy

by Feed Your Zest Intern Katie Parker, MS

Body changes during pregnancy can be extremely hard to navigate, on top of wanting to do everything possible to ensure your baby is healthy. Pregnant people are already dealing with so many new experiences! You may be more emotional than you’re used to, none of your clothes are fitting, sleeping is super uncomfortable, and simple tasks like tying your shoes may seem impossible once you reach a certain point. The last thing that you need is to be concerned, or worse, shamed about your weight during a doctor’s visit.

Monitoring weight during pregnancy can be one helpful tool for some people (more on this below) as your body is creating space and storing nutrients for your growing baby, but it’s not the only tool in the toolbox. YOU get to decide what’s best for you. If you have past trauma from weight stigma or eating disorder, your experience is valid! Your voice holds power, and you have the right to ask for a blind weight, or even decline being weighed. A blind weight means that you step on the scale and the number is covered/not visible to you. You can request that this number be forwarded to your dietitian if you do not want to discuss it with your doctor.

Another option is to work with your dietitian and therapist on body image and coming to terms with the number you might see at the doctor’s office. Being weighed when you have a history of trauma around the scale can be extremely scary. When working with a HAES therapist and dietitian, it is possible to overcome that fear! By unlearning what society tells you about your weight and re-learning that the number on a scale is just one small data point in your pregnancy journey, you can take back that power. Weight gain during pregnancy is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ and it's not a steady linear line like some practitioners make it out to be. Every pregnancy is different, just like all bodies are different and that is okay! 

Let’s talk about a couple of reasons your doctor may try to weigh you, and then we’ll discuss ways to steer them in another direction if you would like to decline being weighed.

Monitoring the baby’s growth

One reason a doctor may want to weigh you is to roughly monitor the baby’s growth. There are many other methods to monitor the baby’s growth that are WAY more reliable than the weight of the mother. The mother’s weight can be influenced by water retention, amount of sleep, when they last ate, and the clothing they have on just to name a few. The most reliable way to monitor the growth of a baby is by obstetric ultrasound, but abdominal palpation and symphysio-fundal height measurements work as well. So, if your doctor says they want to weigh you to track the baby’s growth, try asking them about the more reliable methods mentioned above. 

Monitoring for preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a placental disease that affects pregnant women and their babies. It usually consists of high blood pressure and proteinuria (protein in the urine) and affects 5-7% of all pregnant women. Preeclampsia is sometimes presented with water retention which can cause very rapid weight gain outside of the “normal” amount for pregnancy, but even so, weighing the mother is not the most effective way to monitor for the condition. Other signs of preeclampsia, aside from high blood pressure, water retention, and proteinuria, include headaches, nausea and vomiting, abdominal and/or shoulder pain, changes in vision, and hyperreflexia to name a few. Ask your doctor about tracking your blood pressure and conducting urine tests during your regular checkups instead of your weight to monitor for preeclampsia.  

Monitoring your general health

Weight gain is important in pregnancy as you are building your nutrient and fluid stores, and your body is adapting to hold your growing baby as well. For some people struggling with an eating disorder, hyperemesis, or another condition that may result in malnutrition during pregnancy, monitoring weight gain may be one way to help ensure that both you and your baby are staying nourished. However, if you are not dealing with some of the aforementioned conditions, other measures like blood work can tell us a lot more about your nutritional status in pregnancy than your weight. While there are associations between gaining “too much” weight in pregnancy and certain outcomes like preeclampsia or gestational diabetes, these relationships are not causal. Eating intuitively during pregnancy will help you gain exactly the amount of weight that is right for you and is also evidence based for healthy pregnancy outcomes. Click here to read an article with more information on eating disorders in pregnancy; scroll to the section on weight gain in pregnancy for some great info!

How do I voice my desires about being weighed to my doctor?

So, we’ve talked about why being weighed may not always be necessary and that you have the right to ask for a blind weight, or decline. Now I’m going to give you examples of exactly how to tell your doctor your desires about being weighed. 

“Since today is a routine check-up, I am going to opt out of being weighed. Thank you for respecting my boundaries.”

“I give consent to being weighed, however, I would like to do a blind weight and not hear, see or speak about my weight today. Feel free to forward the data to my dietitian.”

“I’m managing my nutrition and body image concerns with my dietitian, so I’d rather speak about my weight with them instead of you.”

“I hear your concerns about my weight; however, I am working really hard not to diet, especially in pregnancy. I will not continue discussing my weight with you unless absolutely medically necessary.”

“Being weighed is very triggering for me. Can you monitor my baby's growth or my risks for preeclampsia in a different way?”

If you’d rather not directly speak with your doctor about your concerns with being weighed that’s okay too. Three Birds Counseling created a printable handout that you can give to your doctor with your desires about being weighed listed on it. 

If this article resonates with you and your concern with body image during pregnancy, you may be a good fit for nutrition counseling at Feed Your Zest! Click here to learn more about 1:1 coaching or check out my new online program, Fully Nourished Pregnancy.