ONE in five pregnant women are obese at the time of their first screening, according to latest figures.

Experts have warned that women could be putting their own and their baby's health at risk by not losing weight before getting pregnant.

As well the number of obese expectant mothers, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust deemed 26 per cent of pregnant patients to be overweight.

According to data from NHS Digital, around 2,805 women were weighed at their first antenatal booking appointment with the trust in the 12 months to April 2018.

When the number of underweight women is taken into account, the figures mean that only around half of all expectant mothers seen by the trust were considered to be at a healthy weight.

According to both the NHS and the Royal College of Midwives, obese women are more at risk of a range of complications during pregnancy.