Umm. No? That’s not how chickens work. As someone who adopted a bunch of ex-bettery hens who arrived in absolutely heartbreaking condition, it wasn’t until after they’d fattened up and had the freedom to move that they started laying again. We’d adopted them because they were “too old” and “useless” (we didn’t care, they’d have been pets/friends for the ducks even if they weren’t layers) but after the stress and starvation wore off, they lived and laid for at least 5 years each. My favourite lasted 7 more after we got her! And after they got very plump and lovely, their eggs were some of the richest, most delicious I’d ever had.

I get what she’s trying to say but any farmer will tell you that’s a load of bulldust.

“And rude doctors get no patients. Good-bye.”

And jerkface doctors keep no pantients.

Fat chickens lay more eggs. Maybe fat women ovulate less but perhaps the ob should consult a vet before making blanket statements about farm animals. Actually obs should consult vets on birth in general.

Dr. Numbskull flunked out of veterinary school. He then decided to become an OB/GYN, where his lack of intelligence was commonplace.

So…I was 10 pounds overweight when I conceived my son. It was the second time that my husband and I had tried.

I was medically obese when I conceived my daughter, or about 25 pounds overweight, since I still was carrying about half the weight I gained during my pregnancy with my son. That time it was the first time my husband and I had tried.

All that aside, this OB is an asshole. It’s one thing to say, “Unfortunately, research shows that higher BMIs correlate with reproductive difficulties” (as long as research does, in fact, show this). It’s another thing to make a comment like this.

Hmmm, and what about all those “I lost half my size!” stories we read about. All those women who say that they were never skinny to begin with, and then got married and gained X pounds with the first kid, and Y pounds with the next, and so on until they were almost 300 pounds. Seems like they had no problem conceiving. I call BS on the chicken theory!

I’m 100+ lbs overweight and conceived my son just fine

Actually, studies show that being too skinny can make conception very difficult, if not impossible.
Also, ‘fat’ is not a nice word to say to a woman. Ever. Sorry.
And I agree, I doubt it’s the actual adipose tissue that causes difficulty conceiving.
This doc is not only a jerk, he’s stupid, too.
And being a couple of pounds overweight isn’t fat. It’s normal. The range of normal that the BMI charts allow is way too narrow.

I’m well into the “morbidly obese” category and I conceived four children without any issues at all, even in my 40s. And even with PCOS. (There is an ovulatory phenotype.) This fat chicken had PLENTY of eggs.

Some research shows that fertility declines as BMI increases, but not usually till BMI exceeds 35 or so. However, it’s very individual. Some women find their fertility affected by a little extra weight, and some who are much heavier aren’t affected at all. My BMI is well over 35 and I had no problems. It’s more an individual thing than a definitive one, and often more connected to underlying conditions than fat itself.

Sheva, I personally think the word “fat” is far preferable to the odious “O” words. Fat is simply a description of size, but “overweight” and “obese” have judgments and assumptions built into them by their very nature. “Obese” means “that has eaten itself fat” (assumptions about our habits) and “overweight” means that someone else’s arbitrary definitions of weight categories (which by the way were lowered in the late 1990s) is being used. MY body could never get out of the “overweight” category, no matter how much I dieted or how strict I got, including a diet of 500 calories a day. Am I really “overweight” if it’s a standard that is totally unrealistic for MY body? If they lower the definition of “overweight” is it really that standard a norm? If “overweight” people live the longest (as a recent large study from JAMA shows), then should they really be classified as “overweight”?

I know many women can’t hear the word “fat” as neutral because of the way it’s been used against them – “fat and stupid” or “fat and ugly” etc. – but really it’s the context and the intent of how people use the word, not the word itself. The word is simply a description of size, nothing more.

If you find “fat” icky, that’s okay. It’s your privilege to use whatever word you prefer. However, there are many of us who strongly prefer the word “fat” over the odious O words. You can read more about why here:

http://wellroundedmama.blogspot.com/p/terminology.html

Don’t mean to nitpick about terminology, just want to raise awareness that many of us view “fat” as perfectly fine and far more empowering than the alternatives.

You get to use whatever term you prefer, just pointing out that some of us are fine with this term too.

What about all those countries who believe that large women bear stronger sons? If they never conceived, that belief would’ve died off long ago. Honestly when I was “skinny”. (105 pounds at 5’3″) I had multiple miscarriages because my body couldn’t sustain 2 lives, I put on 15 pounds and conceived a beautiful baby.

Well, this fat chicken is about to lay her 3rd egg. So, there!

I didn’t lay eggs as a skinny chicken. I didn’t lay eggs as a fat chicken. I laid eggs as a chicken who no longer ate gluten. And it took my grandmother and Dr. Oz to diagnose me. Clearly, I should have seen a veterinarian.

My mother (5’4″) was only 97lbs when she got pregnant with me. Her being skinny didn’t hinder her fertility. I was 148lbs when I got pregnant with my son. I was 13lbs over my “target” weight when I conceived.

So weight may make a difference, but it’s not the only thing that CAN make a difference.

That being said, all the women in my family have fertility issues that are linked to thyroid issues.

Actually fat chickens lay awesome eggs. Big lucious ones with dark, tasty yolks that stand up high and firm.

Now what the hell do chickens have to do with human babies? Are you telling me to rub a chicken on my baby maker or something? Are you a witch doctor?

A care provider should really try to show sensitivity when discussing someone’s weight, even when they need to raise the issue of weight loss. Weight can be so wrapped up in psychological issues (not to mention socio-economical, racial, and gender issues!)…being this rude is not only uncalled for, it is detrimental to creating a safe space for this individual to discuss her concerns (if she has them). Not to mention the fact that shaming a person about their weight is THE WORST way to address their health concerns – way to trigger a binge and/or purge, Doc.

My fertility isn’t linked to my weight at all doc. I was on the low end of “healthy” on the infamous BMI chart when I conceived DD # 1, I was on the low end of “obese” on that same chart when I conceived DD # 2, and the baby I’m giving birth to in a couple of weeks.
My sisters on the other hand, have been trying to conceive for over 2 years. One has a BMI of 23-24 (and PCOS), the other one has a little more weight on her, they don’t know why she’s not conceiving.