Our Experts: Claire Hegarty - Health Expert

Dear Claire 

The other week I read in the newspaper that being overweight could stop people from getting pregnant and I would like to know if this is true or another story in the newspapers to scare people. I am 5ft2 and at the moment I currently weigh 19 stone.

Jenny Smith 

Dear Jenny 

What I would say is that carrying extra weight than we are meant to is going to put extra stress on the body and organs and therefore not having the body work at its optimum function.....so then when a lady becomes pregnant this is then of course addtional strain and changes to her body and whole system....and many people do quite easily get pregnant who may not be at their healthy weight SO I would want to look into all factors involved

I would suggest that when wanting to become pregnant to give both yourself and baby the best chance and easiest time throughout your pregnancy, do as much as you can to be at a weight you are happy with AND its more than just about what a person weighs, its about being happy and healthy -someone could weigh 6 stone and be miserable and extremely unhealthy.....as well as health reasons there are also the additional factors of being active and moving about which will come into play as a ladies body and shape changes

To Claire

For the past month I have been feeling down, not being able to sleep and keep snapping at people. At work has been hard, I am working long hours for no extra pay and tend to bring work home with me working even longer hours.

Me and my husband never argued but now we are always at each others throats and I would like to know if this is stress related and if so what can I do about it

Sandra Corus

To Sandra Corus

While we all experience and feel in different ways which includes what will cause us stress and how that will feel in our bodies, there are some general areas we can look into that can start to change if we are feeling stressed and often easy to address if we address at first signs

The areas that can be effected are -

Appetite
Sleep
General Mood - so "you're just not feeling yourself"
Energy Levels
Performance at work
Becoming snappy


And while stress can come from many sources for many reasons, the first stage is to address what the cause is so we know what we need to do......as well as the following, not eating the right food for our bodies can effect our mood so this is also something to explore.

To Claire 

Me and my wife have been married for over ten years, but for the past few years now we do not seem to communicate. For example, I booked a surprise holiday for me and my wife and she did not like the idea saying she was fed up with holidays and I should have spoken to her before, which would not have been a surprise.

When we go out and are left alone, we do not speak, we do not have anything to say, I feel this could be the end of our marriage. I do love her but we do not speak that much except for small talk. I would like for our marriage to work but I am not prepared to waste my life trying to save a marriage that is lost.

Is this normal for a relationship and what can we do to communicate with each other

Paul Jones 

Hi Paul

In terms of working with yourself and your wife, it would definitely be of benefit to work with you both AND when I am working with a couple with regards to their relationship I also work with each person individually so this is certainly something we could do and then take it from there...what makes the results and change most easily and quickly to achieve is when I work with both people individually and together - which involves work both with myself and tasks I would set for you both to be carrying out within your usual routine

AND often by one person taking steps to make changes, this gives the other person permission to feel safe in wanting to make changes too.