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Obese Mothers May Pass on Infertility Problems

By John von Radowitz, PA Science Correspondent


Rising obesity rates could be helping to spread an epidemic of infertility through generations of women, an expert claimed today.

Scientists have linked the effects of mothers being overweight with menstrual irregularities and other symptoms of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) in their daughters.


PCOS, marked by cysts in the ovaries and hormonal imbalances, is the most common cause of infertility in young women.

The new research suggests that obesity in late pregnancy produces changes in the womb that sets unborn daughters up for future fertility problems.

They are likely to develop at least some of the multiple symptoms of PCOS in later life, including irregular periods, and excess facial or body hair, and difficulty conceiving.

Study leader Dr Michael Davies, from the University of Adelaide in Australia, said: “We may expect there to be an epidemic of obesity-related menstrual irregularities and fertility-related disorders as a consequence of increased obesity among mothers.”

He said the daughters would be pre-disposed to end up overweight themselves, both for biological reasons and as a result of copying their mothers’ dietary habits.

If they succeeded in having daughters of their own, they would be liable to pass the same problems onto them.

Dr Davies’s team studied 544 women aged 30 to 32 who were born between 1973 and 1975.

“Symptoms of PCOS were fairly common,” he told the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Copenhagen.

One in five women had more facial or body hair than normal, and a quarter reported more than four days menstrual irregularity. Five per cent of the women were diagnosed with PCOS.

The researchers compared the women’s medical histories with information about their births.

The analysis revealed two different and overlapping pathways related to symptoms of PCOS in later life.

One involved a not unexpected link between restricted foetal growth, low birth weight, and future severe symptoms leading to a diagnosis of PCOS.

But what was more surprising was a contrasting route to the syndrome marked by heavy mothers giving birth to big babies.

Their daughters may not develop bad enough symptoms of PCOS to have the condition recognised and diagnosed. However they would still be at risk of menstrual irregularities and infertility.

“We’re aware that obesity rates are rising, and anything consequential to that is also going to increase,” said Dr Davies.

“One may reasonably expect there to be an increase in the prevalence of menstrual irregularities, and we know that correlates with an increase in fertility problems.

“I wouldn’t recommend that people lose weight during pregnancy, but I guess this is another reason to try to be conscious of one’s body weight.”

Events that occurred not only to the mother, but possibly also the grandmother, could have a bearing on foetal development, said Dr Davies.

“To understand the growth of a child, we need to also understand the growth of the parents and possibly the grandparents.

“A good predictor of one’s own birth weight is the birth weight of one’s mother.”

[embroider]

I agree with everything! My grandmother was diabetic and died at the age of 45. My mom had PCOS and it took her seven years to conceive me. She has struggled with her weight and her PCOS symptoms for many years. Now I am following in her footsteps. I am 20 weeks pregnant and I have gestational diabetes- which means that the baby will be big and I will likely pass on infertility issues if it happens to be a girl.

[Shanleigh]

My mother was only 100 bls before getting I was an idea and at her biggest with me was 140 bls. She also didn't have a problem with fertility. I wonder.