Women rightfully feel "uneasy" that the NHS has embarked on a trial in which overweight pregnant women are being given a drug to prevent them having obese babies, says Alison Wetton, CEO of Britain's fastest growing weight loss organisation, All About Weight.

"No mother-to-be likes to take medication, and the fact that the widely-used diabetes pill, metformin, is being trialled to prevent obese babies being born to overweight mothers is disturbing to me, and I am sure most other women as well," said Mrs Wetton.

She was commenting on news that 400 obese, non-diabetic women are taking part in a study at hospitals in Liverpool, Edinburgh and Coventry in which half will take metformin up to three times a day from 12 weeks gestation, and the other half will be given dummy drugs.

The treatment is designed to reduce the food supply to the baby, rather than make the expectant mother lose weight herself. Doctors behind the trial are hoping it will prevent the birth of over-large babies, thereby reducing the need for caesarean sections and the instance of pre-eclampsia, which is a potentially fatal complication in pregnancy common to overweight mothers.

Mr Will Williams, scientific advisor for All About Weight, said that although there were "reasonable grounds" for the trial, it was "a shame that it is needed at all".

"We know that being obese and having high blood glucose and insulin levels is bad for the mother and baby. We also know that obese mothers tend to have children who go on to become overweight and obese and have associated health complications in later life. Metformin is safe in pregnancy and has no negative effects on the child up to 2 years, but there is a lack of studies on older children," said Mr Williams.

He said women wanting to conceive could instead lose weight by following a healthy weight loss plan, including diet and exercise, and "thus achieve all the things that the Metformin trial is hoping to do, without the risks or costs of adding a drug with uncertain long term effects."

"This would be far preferable to popping a pill that may help pregnancy outcomes but is unlikely to break the cycle of an unhealthy lifestyle leading to overweight children and the continuing rise of obesity and diabetes in the general population," said Mr Williams.

Source:
Hillgrove Pr