“In 2018 I had gastric bypass surgery. I’ve always been a big girl but I hit 180 kg and even though I was working closely with doctors and nutritionists the weight wasn’t shifting so that’s when surgery was suggested. It was scary but it hit me hard when they told me that I probably wouldn’t live till I was 30. I lost 77 kilos so I was 103 kg when I fell pregnant.

“My surgeon suggested a bypass and I agreed. My issue is that I get bored and I eat. For me it changed my life. My doctor suggested waiting 12-18 months till I healed and they wanted to make sure I was absorbing my multi-vitamins because my stomach is now so small, I need to take multivitamins to ensure I’m getting everything I need.

“I was six weeks pregnant when I found out. It was a happy surprise. I went to a GP who had great reviews and after a dating scan I went back to her and she said that because I was overweight I needed to do the Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) straight away. I actually did the test but because of my gastric band I wasn’t supposed to. Unfortunately neither I nor the GP knew that. The risk is dumping syndrome; when the food gets dumped into your small intestine from your stomach and the symptoms are bloating, vomiting, diarrhoea and feeling faint. Twenty minutes after the drink I fainted. The GP called a few days later and my results were so abnormal that she diagnosed me with Gestational Diabetes (GD) but she refused to look further into it. It was a really horrific start.

“I chose to see a private obstetrician and she didn’t class me as high risk. She did run a few extra blood tests to check my mineral and vitamin levels but she never weighed me or asked about my weight.

“Being a bigger girl and having an anterior placenta, it took longer to feel kicks but apart from that I had a dream pregnancy. I had a birth plan but I knew that my plans would probably change. I got to 41+5 and I was against induction but my obstetrician advised it at that stage. I went into the hospital for the balloon catheter but that was when my obstetrician realised that my waters had broken. I went home that night and was bouncing on the ball and walking around but nothing happened so I went in at 7am the next morning for the medical induction. At 3pm they did a vaginal examination and I’d only dilated 1cm in six hours. They turned the induction up and that’s when the contractions just came one after another and I was so overwhelmed. I asked for the epidural then, I just knew I needed it, and I was shaking so much when the anaesthetist put it in.

“After about 40 minutes I told my obstetrician I could feel pain; the epidural wasn’t working and…it felt like an outer body experience. There was so much I wanted to say but I couldn’t say anything. It felt like my tailbone was on fire and I told the midwives I needed to get up but they wouldn’t let me because I’d had the epidural, even though it wasn’t working. My obstetrician came in and checked me and I was 10cm. I definitely felt the urge to push but I’d been holding on. It took 90 minutes to birth her and it was quite empowering to push her once I got in the right headspace. Brandon lifted her onto my chest and announced that it was a girl and I couldn’t believe it. For the first couple of seconds I was crying with relief that it was over. I only had a first degree tear which I had one stitch for and I stayed three nights in hospital but by that stage I was very ready to go home.

“With weight loss surgery there is a chance that you’ll have a smaller baby because you’re taking in less nutrients but I’ve joined a facebook group for women who had babies after surgery and they’re babies were average size although they did say that there’s a higher chance of early labour and my obstetrician did mention that in my pregnancy too.

“Breastfeeding was challenging; Alison wasn’t losing weight, she wasn’t underweight, she was always bright and alert but they continued to say that she wasn’t putting on enough weight according to the charts. I consulted with a lactation consultant and used a supply line for a while but in the end I chose to formula feed her.”