<p>This is pretty disturbing. </p>
<p>[Overweight</a> women: Some South Florida ob-gyns turn away overweight patients - Sun Sentinel](<a href=“http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-05-16/health/fl-hk-no-obesity-doc-20110516_1_gyn-ob-gyn-obese-patients]Overweight”>http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-05-16/health/fl-hk-no-obesity-doc-20110516_1_gyn-ob-gyn-obese-patients)</p>
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<p>“Some of the doctors said the main reason was their exam tables or other equipment can’t handle people over a certain weight. But at least six said they were trying to avoid obese patients because they have a higher risk of complications.”</p>
<p>"The High-Cost States for Obestetricians and Gynecologists</p>
<p>The medical malpractice insurance rates are the highest in states like Nevada and Florida. The malpractice premiums vary depending upon the specific field of specialization. As per the last year statistics, Obestetricians and gynecologists have been the ones who paid the highest rates, ranging from $85,000 to as much as $200,000"</p>
<p>It is a HUGE cost for docs to have to buy extra heavy-duty equipment to handle extremely obese people. Docs are NOT required to serve every person who wants to be seen/treated by him/her. It is much more difficult to provide appropriate care for people who are grossly overweight, as they have to manipulate large amounts of fat tissue to even get to the portions of the patient that need examination and/or treatment. There are also many health issues related to the excess weight that make treatment of them more copmlicatd and costly.</p>
<p>the term overweight can be misleading…30 pounds overweight is not at all the same thing as a person who weighs 382 pounds, as my dh had to operate on today…</p>
<p>A two hundred pound woman is “grossly overweight?” I’m 5’10" tall for goodness sake! Are people really saying that medical tables are not designed to hold someone, say, 250lbs? Then where do doctors who serve men get their magical tables that can?</p>
<p>I’m getting tired of the fat-phobia. Yes, being overweight is an issue but it’s not the only issue, for goodness sake.</p>
<p>Edited to add, as mephismom points out, at some point a doctor has to deal with overweight patients. Is it really a good idea to deny these women pre-natal care? I wonder what the doctors who work in maternity wards would have to say about that.</p>
<p>As a “acceptable” weight woman I would be put off by a doctor with such a policy. What has to be wrong with me that he kicks me out? It is one thing for a doctor to refer a patient to a specialist when appropriate, but it is another thing for him to refuse to see patients because he MAY have to refer them to specialist at some point.</p>
<p>“I wonder what the doctors who work in maternity wards would have to say about that.”</p>
<p>But aren’t THESE the doctors working on the maternity ward? It is rare for an Ob. Gyn to limit themselves to inpatient work, but if they do, med mal and equipment would be covered by the hospital.</p>
<p>I wonder why no one is commenting on the malpractice issue? Isis hard for ANYONE to see an ObGyn in some places because of the risk involved. I thought Florida was one of those places.</p>
<p>Just asking here … is there a weight at which a physician might reasonably conclude that his (or her) practice can’t handle the patient? </p>
<p>[Full disclosure: I’ve just come over from the “too obese to fly” thread, where participants seem to think that there is a functional threshold.]</p>
<p>My weight isn’t the issue, (<120 lbs) but what if the doctors find out I’m a Type 1 diabetic? Will they refuse me too?</p>
<p>^I assume you would be asked to see someone comfortable managing a high risk pregnancy.</p>
<p>Another example of poorly written article with omitted facts, such as height and general health condition of the women in question. </p>
<p>Kate, I think that all CCers would agree that a 5’ 10" woman weighing 200 lb who leads an active lifestyle (and swims regularly!) is overweight, but not grossly overweight or morbidly obese.</p>
<p>Yes, Shrinkap, these are the same doctors who deliver babies. One of my buddies in an OB/GYN, and five years ago she paid $150,000 for her malpractice insurance (and she was “happy” to pay so “little” because she’s never been sued).</p>
<p>I always thought exam tables were the same size regardless of targeted population. Many men are over 200 pounds.</p>
<p>I am sure 200 pounds is not the issue.</p>
<p>With regard to exam tables, this one says up to 400 ponds
<a href=“http://www.dremed.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/621_549/products_id/1494[/url]”>http://www.dremed.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/621_549/products_id/1494</a></p>
<p>One of my sisters is 5’10" and 195. Wears a size 12 and looks darned fine. Noone would look at here and consider her overweight.</p>
<p>Thankfully, my GYN has never had an issue.</p>
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<p>Going by height and weight alone, that falls into the “overweight” category, but a highly active person of that height and weight is somewhat likely to have a body fat percentage in the acceptable or even high fitness range due to much of the “excess” weight being muscle. If so, s/he would be unlikely to suffer from the added health risks of obesity (as defined by having excess body fat).</p>
<p>It does seem hard to believe that a typical exam table would not be designed for 200 pound people, since such people are fairly common. Now, it may be more of an issue at much greater weights, where heavy duty hospital gurneys, wheelchairs, etc. may need to be provided.</p>
<p>My internist said they had to buy exam tables that can hold up to 750 or 1000 pounds because some of the patients are gettnig heavier & heavier. When they heave themselves onto the table, there is added stress on the portion of the table they end up on, since it is not evenly spread throughout the table (something like that).</p>
<p>200 pounds on a person who is 5’10" doesn’t seem all that heavy to me, whether it is a male or female. Still, not all docs want to handle high risk pregnancies and obesity, diabetes, asthma, COPD & other conditions can be of quite concerning and also high risk. Not all docs are willing or able to work with high risk patients. It can take more time and higher skill level. There are docs who specialize in higher risk patients and can charge accordingly.</p>
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<p>Here’s the problem with that. Not all women seeing an OB-GYN are pregnant or plan on being pregnant. Not all women with obesity, diabetes, asthma, COPD have high risk pregnancies. These conditions may or may not cause high risk in other gynecological conditions. To say that you will not see ANY obese women because obesity can cause high risk pregnancies is like a dermatologist saying he won’t see anyone with pale skin because they have a higher risk of skin cancer.</p>
<p>It would worry me to see a doctor that was so risk adverse. I would worry that as soon as I developed something off the beaten path he would push me out the door.</p>
<p>From the NIH
</code></pre>
<p>[NIH:</a> High-Risk Pregnancy](<a href=“Request Rejected”>http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/high_risk_pregnancy.cfm)</p>
<p>Obesity is a risk factor for cesarean section.
[Maternal</a> obesity and risk of cesarean delivery](<a href=“Maternal obesity and risk of cesarean delivery: a meta-analysis - PubMed”>Maternal obesity and risk of cesarean delivery: a meta-analysis - PubMed)</p>
<p>Obesity is a risk factor for stillbirth.
[Maternal</a> obesity and risk of stillbirth](<a href=“Maternal obesity and risk of stillbirth: a metaanalysis - PubMed”>Maternal obesity and risk of stillbirth: a metaanalysis - PubMed)</p>
<p>This article suggests that risk attributed to obesity may not matter at a tertiary perinatal center that is prepared to deal with high risk pregnancies.
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<p>[Obesity</a> - Obesity as an Obstetric Risk Factor: Does It Matter in a Perinatal Center?](<a href=“http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v14/n5/full/oby200688a.html]Obesity”>http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v14/n5/full/oby200688a.html)</p>
<p>A lot of what OB-GYNs do is by palpitation. Checking for cysts or tumors for example. I would imagine this becomes very difficult if the patient is extremely obese.</p>
<p>I would worry that as soon as I developed something off the beaten path he would push me out the door. </p>
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<p>That is what my mother’s internist did when she began to have issues with her thinking. She didn’t have Alzheimer’s, but she had some real problems. Her internist, who practices in an area with a huge elderly population, told her he didn’t think she should come to him anymore. She NEEDED him most at that time, and he didn’t want anything to do with her. She was scheduled to visit a new doctor but ended up dying before she ever made that visit. The internist had the audacity to send my father a sympathy card that commented on how the office staff fondly remembered my mom. Bite me.</p>
<p>I have a brother who is about 450 pounds. I am glad he has a doctor who treats him with dignity. And yes, he has health problems. That would be why he sees a doctor.</p>