Home Politics & Debate
If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.

Call for fertility ban for obese

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Very obese women should be denied fertility treatment, experts say.
The British Fertility Society is recommending women with a body mass index of 36 and over should not be allowed access to fertility treatment.

Underweight women and those classed just as obese (BMI over 29) should be forced to address their weight before starting treatment, the society said.
...

Full report here.

What do you think? Do you agree with it or not?
«13

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Before I join in - does anyone know where all the tax go on the food that they buy?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Well it's only sensible to refuse treatment to someone if their weight makes it unsafe to carry it out. But I think it should be down to doctor discretion rather than a one size fits all policy based on BMI.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Well it's only sensible to refuse treatment to someone if their weight makes it unsafe to carry it out. But I think it should be down to doctor discretion rather than a one size fits all policy based on BMI.

    ITA.

    And if you are too skinny it is as unhealthy as if you are really fat anyway...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i think i makes sense in that doctors only approve treatment if its in the best interests of the patient. if by giving fertility treatment and helping to get a heavily overweight woman pregnant is going to cause her unnecessary health problems by carrying and having a baby then ethically it makes sense to refuse treatment and it would be doing whats in the best interests of the patient, even if thats not what the patient wants. nihilisticmadman is right too, there risks if your BMI is too low but having said that may be the reason why thats not addressed is because females stop having periods anyway when there BMI is very low meaning fertility treatment would be impossible.

    btw I'm with stupid, I like your avatar :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    otter wrote:
    btw I'm with stupid, I like your avatar :)
    Thanks.

    I've heard of bodybuilders being told they're technically obese, because based on thier height, they are far heavier than they should be, so you can never use BMI as a definitive guide.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    VinylVicky wrote:
    Before I join in - does anyone know where all the tax go on the food that they buy?
    There's no tax on food, I don't think. Not on groceries at any rate, though you pay tax when you eat out.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks.

    I've heard of bodybuilders being told they're technically obese, because based on thier height, they are far heavier than they should be, so you can never use BMI as a definitive guide.

    Isn't that muscle and not fat?

    I saw this on the news last night. I agree with it, also I agree with the thing about age as well.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    TBH I think it may be the right thing to do. Being OW can cause medical issues that they may worsen whilst carrying, & possible jeopardize health.

    Calculating height & weight is complete bs, its not accurate at all. The most accurate way of determine how much bf one has, is underwater weighing & possibly skin calipers. I have stood on machines that tell me I need to loose weight & even gives tips on how! :rolleyes:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Aladdin wrote:
    There's no tax on food, I don't think.

    The vast majority no. Luxury items, such as chocolate biscuits yes. But not Jaffa Cakes, as they're a cake not a biscuit ??
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    RubberSkin wrote:
    But not Jaffa Cakes, as they're a cake not a biscuit ??
    Haha not this debate again? :p

    They're penguins, everyone knows that.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The same ban applies for those with a BMI under 19 which really isn't that thin.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Sofie wrote:
    Isn't that muscle and not fat?
    Yep. But BMI doesn't take that into account. That's the problem.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Randomgirl wrote:
    The same ban applies for those with a BMI under 19 which really isn't that thin.
    thats not fair....seeing as you're not classed as underweight till you're below 18.5. And its not till you get to about 16 i think till you're periods stop. Which obviously means you're unhealthily thin.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yep. But BMI doesn't take that into account. That's the problem.
    It's ridiculous. I think it's dodgy that they base so much on BMI when it's not a reliable test. This isn't what's being debated though...

    I suppose some of the reactions might be that the people who carry out IVF (the doctors!) are "playing God" by choosing who can or can't have children by putting these limits on IVF treatment. But, they are already "playing God" by helping to conceive unnaturally. (Is unnaturally the right term here?)

    Reading the link, it says that this will end the postcode lottery that decides a lot of IVF cases. It makes sense from a medical point of view - not allow it to people where it is least likely to work, which saves money. It also means that the time and resources they are not using on cases where it is least likely to work can be spent on other people who have more chance of conceiving.

    Also, if you are desperate to conceive yet considered to be obese and therefore not allowed treatment, it is usually possible to lose the weight, or put it on if you are considered underweight.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    noone should get IVF free imo

    being able to bear a child is a privilige not a right
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    How about if someone if obese but it's not thier fault (medical) and its hard to shift the weight?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Then being that obese (I'm talking properly obese here, not just considered it on a BMI scale because you are short and muscly) could mean it is unsafe for you to be pregnant.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    noone should get IVF free imo

    being able to bear a child is a privilige not a right
    You could say the same thing about being able to see, or hear. All natural functions that some people can't do naturally.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    noone should get IVF free imo

    being able to bear a child is a privilige not a right
    you probably wouldn't be saying that if you and your partner couldn't concieve naturally and couldn't afford IVF
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    noone should get IVF free imo

    being able to bear a child is a privilige not a right

    I don't agree with you. So if people can't see they shouldn't get help with blind things?
    Should only people of perfect health be allowed to have kids then? Poor people shouldn't?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Also, if you are desperate to conceive yet considered to be obese and therefore not allowed treatment, it is usually possible to lose the weight, or put it on if you are considered underweight.
    In some cases lifestyle changes such as being the right weight and exercising will improve ones natural fertility anyway.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    being able to have a baby is supposed to be what all healthy women can do....but it doesn't work that way. Being fertile isn't a privilage - it's meant to be normal.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    And not to say that accidental births are somehow unwanted or uncared for, but there's something appealing about a mother who's willing to go through IVF to have a child. You know the parents really want it.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    And not to say that accidental births are somehow unwanted or uncared for, but there's something appealing about a mother who's willing to go through IVF to have a child. You know the parents really want it.


    sometimes those people seem so desperate it almost makes the kid seem a possesion to them
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    sometimes those people seem so desperate it almost makes the kid seem a possesion to them
    But I guess we can't understand what it feels like to want a kid that much until we get that hormonal "I need a baby" urge.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Tweety wrote:
    I don't agree with you. So if people can't see they shouldn't get help with blind things?
    Should only people of perfect health be allowed to have kids then? Poor people shouldn't?

    health /= fertility

    where did i say poor people cant have kids?


    do you honestly think there is a right to bear a child? i don't personally
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    sometimes those people seem so desperate it almost makes the kid seem a possesion to them
    wtf? how?

    just because they want to be parents really bad doesn't make them obsessed with wanting a baby just because 'everyone else has'
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    health /= fertility

    where did i say poor people cant have kids?


    do you honestly think there is a right to bear a child? i don't personally
    you can be perfectly healthy and be infertile for unknown reasons
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ballerina wrote:
    you can be perfectly healthy and be infertile for unknown reasons
    that's what he said
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    health /= fertility

    where did i say poor people cant have kids?


    do you honestly think there is a right to bear a child? i don't personally

    You said that IVF shouldn't be given for free.
Sign In or Register to comment.