NHS chiefs have banned mums-to-be from giving birth at their hospital if they weigh too much.
Women wanting to have babies at Weston General Hospital in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, are required to have their body mass index (BMI) calculated.
Anyone with a BMI figure of over 34 will be turned away and made to travel 20 miles to a more fully-equipped maternity unit in Bristol.
BMI is a formula based on height and weight. A reading of 34 is equivalent to a 5ft 6in woman weighing 15 stone.
Those wishing for a healthier lifestyle before planning a pregnancy may wish to consider weight loss surgery with The Hospital Group.
The Hospital Group is Ireland and the UK’s biggest provider of weight loss surgery and has seen a 73.9% increase, with a staggering 12,848 people seeking surgery in 2008. In 2007, 7,385 people enquired into gastric procedures.
The surgery, including gastric bands, gastric bypasses and gastric balloons can be used alongside liposculpture – also known as liposuction – and abdominoplasty – the common tummy tuck – to sculpt and perfect your body and give you a healthier lifestyle.
Such is the interest in The Hospital Group’s weight loss procedures, bookings have increased to levels above that of the NHS.
While the NHS reported that it had performed 2,724 weight-loss operations in 2008, The Hospital Group performed a total of 3,015 gastric procedures in the same period.
The Hospital Group is committed to providing the very highest standards and all procedures are performed by an expert medical team in state-of-the-art facilities that are second to none.
Since The Hospital Group was established in 1992, it has grown from a small pharmaceutical company to one of Ireland and the UK’s foremost weight loss surgery providers.
For further information on The Hospital Group’s range of surgical and non-surgical procedures please visit www.cosmeticsurgery.ie or call 1850 20 40 90
