Bariatric surgery for women of reproductive age

Australia is ranked fifth of all OECD countries for prevalence of obesity in women,1 and the proportion of young women with obesity is increasing. Over the last decade the estimated prevalence has increased by about 60% in Australian women aged 25–34 years, and by a remarkable 80% in women aged 35–44 years.2 In 2012 just over 20% of women giving birth in Australia had a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or greater, and 3% had a BMI of 40 kg/m2 or more. As the theme of this issue of BJOG attests, obesity has become perhaps the major challenge facing those who provide care to women who are pregnant or seeking to become pregnant in both the developed and, increasingly, the developing world. Obesity is important because it affects all phases of a woman’s reproductive life —it makes achieving an ongoing pregnancy more difficult, increases the likelihood of things going wrong during pregnancy and birth, can have important long-term adverse effects for the offspring, and limits the ability of a woman to provide longer-term parental care to her children. For all of these reasons, finding ways to help reproductive-age women return to a healthy weight before they try to become pregnant should be a priority.