How much weight did you gain while pregnant: Weight Gain During Pregnancy | Pregnancy | Maternal and Infant Health

Weight Gain During Pregnancy: How Much Is Normal?

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

In this Article

• Where Does the Extra Weight Go During Pregnancy?
• Is It Safe to Lose Weight When Pregnant?
• How to Gain the Right Amount of Weight During Pregnancy
• What if You Gain Too Much Weight During Pregnancy?
• When to Call Your Doctor

Eating a healthy, balanced diet will help your baby get the nutrients they need and grow at a healthy rate. But how many extra calories do you really need?

Though you do need some extra calories, it’s not necessary to ”eat for two.” The average pregnant woman needs only about 300 healthycalories more a day than they did before they were pregnant. This will help them gain the right amount of weight during pregnancy.

Ask your health care provider how much weight you should gain. A woman who was average weight before getting pregnant should gain 25 to 35 pounds after becoming pregnant. Underweight women should gain 28 to 40 pounds. And overweight women may need to gain only 15 to 25 pounds during pregnancy.

In general, you should gain about 2 to 4 pounds during the first 3 months you’re pregnant and 1 pound a week during the rest of your pregnancy. If you are expecting twins you should gain 35 to 45 pounds during your pregnancy. This would be an average of 1 ½ pounds per week after the usual weight gain in the first 3 months.

It’s especially important to gain the right amount of weight when you’re expecting twins because your weight affects the babies’ weight. And because twins are often born before the due date, a higher birth weight is important for their health. When carrying twins, you may need between 3,000 and 3,500 calories a day.

Where Does the Extra Weight Go During Pregnancy?

• Baby: 8 pounds
• Placenta: 2-3 pounds
• Amniotic fluid: 2-3 pounds
• Breast tissue: 2-3 pounds
• Blood supply: 4 pounds
• Stored fat for delivery and breastfeeding: 5-9 pounds
• Larger uterus: 2-5 pounds
• Total: 25-35 pounds

Is It Safe to Lose Weight When Pregnant?

If a woman is very overweight when they get pregnant, their doctor may want them to lose weight. They should only lose weight under their doctor’s care. But in most cases, women should not try to lose weight or diet during pregnancy.

How to Gain the Right Amount of Weight During Pregnancy

If your health care provider wants you to gain weight while you’re pregnant, try these tips:

• Eat five to six small meals every day.
• Keep quick, easy snacks on hand, such as nuts, raisins, cheese and crackers, dried fruit, and ice cream or yogurt.
• Spread peanut butter on toast, crackers, apples, bananas, or celery. One tablespoon of creamy peanut butter gives you about 100 calories and 7 grams of protein.
• Add nonfat powdered milk to mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, and hot cereal.
• Add extras to your meal, such as butter or margarine, cream cheese, gravy, sour cream, and cheese.

What if You Gain Too Much Weight During Pregnancy?

If you have gained more weight than your doctor recommended, talk to your doctor about it. In most cases, you’ll want to wait until after delivery to lose weight.

Here are some tips to slow your weight gain:

• When eating fast food, choose lower-fat items such as broiled chicken breast sandwich with tomato and lettuce (no sauce or mayonnaise), side salad with low-fat dressing, plain bagels, or a plain baked potato. Avoid foods such as French fries, mozzarella sticks, or breaded chicken patties.
• Avoid whole milk products. You need at least four servings of milk products every day. However, using skim, 1%, or 2% milk will greatly reduce the amount of calories and fat you eat. Also, choose low-fat or fat-free cheese or yogurt.
• Limit sweet or sugary drinks. Sweetened drinks such as soft drinks, fruit punch, fruit drinks, iced tea, lemonade, or powdered drink mixes have lots of empty calories. Choose water, club soda, or mineral water to skip extra calories.
• Don’t add salt to foods when cooking. Salt causes you to retain water.
• Limit sweets and high-calorie snacks. Cookies, candies, donuts, cakes, syrup, honey, and potato chips have a lot of calories and little nutrition. Try not to eat these foods every day. Instead, try fresh fruit, low-fat yogurt, angel food cake with strawberries, or pretzels as lower-calorie snack and dessert choices.
• Use fats in moderation. Fats include cooking oils, margarine, butter, gravy, sauces, mayonnaise, regular salad dressings, sauces, lard, sour cream, and cream cheese. Try lower-fat alternatives.
• Cook food the healthy way. Frying foods in oil or butter will add calories and fat. Baking, broiling, grilling, and boiling are healthier preparation methods.
• Exercise. Moderate exercise can help burn excess calories. Walking or swimming is usually safe for pregnant women. Ask your health care provider what exercise would be right for you before getting started.

When to Call Your Doctor

Talk to your doctor if you:

• Want to know a good target weight gain for you
• Think you are gaining too much weight
• Are losing weight during the second or third trimester
• Have an eating disorder that is keeping you from eating a healthy amount of food
• Need help setting a good menu plan to gain a healthy amount of weight
• Gain weight rapidly. This could be a sign of preeclampsia, pregnancy-related high blood pressure, a serious health issue

Next Article

Women’s Health Guide

1. Screening & Tests
2. Diet & Exercise
3. Rest & Relaxation
4. Reproductive Health
5. Head to Toe

How Much Weight I Gained During Pregnancy

Turn on your JavaScript to view content

IF YOU WERE TO OPEN MY FRIDGE DURING PREGNANCY, YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT I WAS FEEDING A SMALL VILLAGE.

No for real though, you’d find loaves of fresh sourdough bread, mac n’ cheese-filled Tupperware, & raw chocolate chip cookie dough with spoon marks everywhere ( ya, I would eat that shit raw sometimes- judge away ).

Seriously though- never in my life have I eaten SO.MANY.CARBS.

I was ACTUALLY tired of eating. Carbs were coming out of my pores. But that’s what I craved: CARBS, CARBS, CARBS, & more CARBS. Did I mention sourdough? Like I should have named the baby Sourdough Bosstick. It has a ring to it, ehh?

Anddddd as you may have guessed: as I ate more carbs, I gained weight.

Yes, weight. Ohhhhh, such a taboo word. Something that feels uncomfortable to talk about. Kind of even gives me a pit to say the word.

But ya, the weight packed on during my pregnancy.

And what’s crazy is I had so many DM’s or Instagram comments from people asking me about the weight topic: “How much weight have you gained?”

It felt like SUCH a big question.

One that I felt like I would answer after my pregnancy, in a blog post, tied with a pink bow for you. So here we are- it’s a messy bow though. Because there’s so much to say about it, you know?

But the reality is, if I can use my platform to talk about a subject that women feel guilty about ( hey ! Me included ), then let’s do it- let’s go there.

So yes, one of those subjects most definitely is ‘HOW MUCH WEIGHT “YOU SHOULD” GAIN WHEN YOU’RE PREGNANT.’

First of all, all I kept hearing from my doctor, social media, friends, etc. was “you should gain between 25 to 35 pounds.”

PSSSSSTTTTTT.

Hi, hello, I did not gain 25 pounds. 25 pounds? Uhh, I gained that in the early 2nd trimester.

In fact: I gained 50 pounds at 40 weeks.

And to be blunt: I delivered at 41 weeks, so I probably gained 55 pounds- maybe more?

Almost SIXTY POUNDS is not what your doctor tells you to gain. But it’s what I gained. That’s my truth. And really everyone is different- like I have huge boobs, they blew up. I hold on to water. & I ate a lot of bread…because shit, that’s what I craved.

Looking back, I can pinpoint times throughout my pregnancy where I felt like VIOLET from Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. Rolling around like a huge ball- feeling out of control in my body. Sure, I was eating very healthy too, but after a heaping bowl of cinnamon cereal four nights in a row before bed, you’re not necessarily feeling your best.

BUT at some point instead of stressing out I just embraced the process & gave into my cravings- I could not choose my cravings. Like I wish it was vegetables & fruit- but it wasn’t. Most foods turned me off, to be honest.

I remember being in France with Michael surrounded by all the delicious breads, pastas, croissants, & lemon soufflé pancakes & just being like “live your best life, bitch.”

And boy did I ever !!! I ate !! And ate !!…And ate !!

& lived to tell you- the real tale. Not the social media pretty tale- the actual truth!

There were definitely times after I ate too many carbs & looked in the mirror & thought: “FUCKKKKKK. Is that more cellulite? Ugh, I can’t fit into that anymore. Shit, my love handles have doubled !!” To be real my ass truly tripled- my ass was like WHOAAAAAAA.

…And then there were other times where I just simply embraced the fact that I couldn’t shave my vagina or legs because I couldn’t see them.

You gotta laugh at that point ??

As far as clothes, towards the end, nothing fit- like not even Michael’s hoodies. All I could do at that point was go with it- I mean, what’s the point of stressing if there’s nothing you can do about it? You realize in pregnancy you can either be stressed ( which in my opinion, is bad energy for the baby ) or you can just laugh & accept the craziness that is happening to your body.

Luckily I had a healthy 7 lb. 11 oz. baby with a full head of hair, so what if I enjoyed too much sourdough? She was worth it.

My pregnancy taught me again the importance of stoicism– it reiterated why I love the philosophy so much. How to endure pain/hardship without complaint. How to accept what you can’t control. BE CALM. Accept what is happening.

And you know what? I meditated on that a lot- I really hope that energy transferred to the baby. CALM, CALM, CALM was a mantra I meditated on.

SO ! Why did I do this post? Because social media puts a shitload of pressure on women when it comes to weight gain, so to be able to showcase some realness here is very much important to me. For anyone who is pregnant, been pregnant, or just in general… I don’t want things to always look effortless, when sometimes they aren’t.

To me, it’s wild that after giving birth 3 & half weeks ago, people are messaging me: “are you back to your pre-pregnancy weight?”

HELL NO, I’m not. I have flabby skin right now. My uterus is still not back to normal ( it takes 6 weeks to go back to normal ). My hair is a mess. I’m tired. I feel slow- like my brain is slow. & I have a lot of work to do in the weight department.

The whole process has felt like a mind fuck…but also a lesson…one from my daughter maybe?

The funny thing is that shamefulness around weight gain is not bringing me negative emotions like they used to- maybe because I had a perspective shift or maybe it’s being vulnerable with you? Who knows. All I know is instead of making everything look Instagram-ready, I have decided to share my experience in hopes that it settles someone’s voice in their head who’s pregnant. Hopefully it enables them to give THEMSELVES a break too.

Ultimately whether you gain 25 pounds or 80 pounds- it is what it is. So instead of feeling any way about it, just realize you created a baby & it’s part of the gig.

( By the way, you should know any time I spent stressed about weight was fucking pointless because when I arrived home from the hospital I lost 30 pounds. Lots of water weight. Which happens to so many women- so now I have 25 pounds to lose. Which will be VERY challenging but what can you do. So as you can see, things are not Instagram-ready over here k? Don’t fall for any kind of facade here ).

Anyway, after this post, I’m trying not to give it too much energy. Like yes I have weight to lose. I will walk. I will move. I will drink a shitload of water. Have my vegetables. Intermittent fast. Use compression wear/belly band technique. Do Pilates. And The Skinny Confidential Body Guide. Enjoy inulin in my coffee. Sleep. Lower my cortisol. Be with my baby. Meditate. Walk some more.

…And give myself a fucking break. Ya know?

Would love to hear your thoughts- x lauryn

+ the thing I craved the MOST in pregnancy. 

++ the pillow that saved my life for 9 months.

SHOP THE POST

Turn on your JavaScript to view content

Pregnancy weight gain

How much weight did you gain during pregnancy? Canadian women are piling on more pounds than ever before, presenting doctors with a dilemma.

In preparation for her first pregnancy, Susan Clinton decided to get in shape. The Ottawa accountant had always led a fairly active lifestyle, but before conceiving, she staged a last healthful hurrah, training for and completing her first half-marathon. When she crossed the finish line, she was in the best shape of her life. Finally she deemed herself ready—and healthy enough—to grow a baby.

“I expected to be the poster child for an easy pregnancy. I somehow had this visual that I’d just glow. But that was not the case.”

With every passing day of her pregnancy, Clinton found herself getting further and further away from her goal of a stress-free nine months. Her healthy habits fell by the wayside. “I was sick through the whole thing. When I’m pregnant, I have a hangover-type feeling. My body wants comfort foods: carbohydrates, ice cream. It was as if a different body took over, and I was living in someone else’s.” By the time she gave birth to her 10-pound son, Clinton had gained 85 pounds—three times the amount she had initially planned.

Little did Clinton know, she was right on trend. Pregnant Canadians are gaining more weight than ever before, according to a series of recently published studies, and the impact is hurting more than our waistlines. It’s putting our babies, who are also heavier than ever before, at a serious disadvantage: They are more likely to struggle with weight issues for the rest of their lives.

In Clinton’s case, she had no idea of those risks, or how to minimize them. When she learned how much she was gaining, she says she was “gobsmacked. I felt horrible.” Adding to Clinton’s misery was her sense of powerlessness—she wasn’t sure what she could have done differently while pregnant to manage her weight gain. “If someone had told me how many calories I should consume in a day, I would have done it,” she says. Clinton says her doctor seemed to take comfort in the fact that she gained a lot of weight and didn’t seem worried. When she looked online for advice, she found herself lost in a whirl of inconsistent information. Ultimately, she gave in to her body’s cravings.

Within three months of delivering her son, though, Clinton was running again. She joined Weight Watchers and managed to shed all of her extra baby weight. When her son was a little more than a year old, she got pregnant again.

“This time, though, I had the healthy eating habits in place. I had decided that gaining too much weight was my fault the first time around, and the second pregnancy was going to go much better,” Clinton says. And it did, until Clinton was barred from Weight Watchers when she revealed she was expecting. (It’s Weight Watchers’s policy that women are not allowed to participate during pregnancy.) “When they wouldn’t let me continue to attend meetings, I just had a real feeling of helplessness…kind of like sending an alcoholic back to the bar,” Clinton says. “You’re ravenous, and you know you do actually have to consume more calories. For me it was the Wild West.” By the time she delivered her second baby, a 12-pound boy, she’d gained 72 pounds.

Questions around how much weight expectant moms ought to gain—and how closely healthcare practitioners should monitor this—are among the most sensitive in pregnancy. While medical guidelines for healthy weight gain do exist—both Health Canada and the Institute of Medicine make recommendations according to body mass index—they are rarely discussed by healthcare practitioners and aren’t often posted in doctors’ offices. (Online, you can check out Health Canada’s easy-to-use pregnancy weight-gain calculator.) In general, a healthy pregnancy weight gain is two to four pounds total during the first trimester, and then about one pound a week during the second and third trimesters. The average pregnant woman needs about 300 more calories per day than when she’s not pregnant, but they should be healthy calories.

Culturally, however, we’re taught that pregnancy isn’t the time to fret over a few extra pounds. On the contrary, we should relish the permission to indulge in extra helpings, high-calorie foods (“the baby needs that cookie”) and skip the gym in favour of putting our feet up to ward off swollen ankles and exhaustion. Growing a human is, after all, tough work. While adapting to this mindset, we’re also fascinated by the topic of post-pregnancy weight loss. Many of us keep one eye on magazine covers plastered with celebrity moms claiming they slipped into their pre-pregnancy jeans just after their baby was delivered; we click on links offering tips for pregnancy-safe workouts as if they’ll help us build up some sort of post-pregnancy weight loss currency. In this era, to be pregnant is to be steeped in the conflicting pressures to gain ample weight but get it off quickly.

For doctors, the subject of weight gain is often dreaded, says Helena Piccinini-Vallis, a family doctor and a clinical investigator at Dalhousie University in Halifax. “Conversations around weight are particularly sensitive. When a physician feels that he or she has to raise the issue, there’s that initial sense of ‘Oh, my God, how is the patient going to receive it?’”

While doctors commonly find it “easy” to address the issue of not gaining enough weight during pregnancy, “traditionally, if someone gained too much, it’s not addressed,” Piccinini-Vallis says. The reason? “Some physicians don’t even know there are guidelines out there. Patients always have the sense that because we’re physicians we know everything about nutrition and physical activity. Nothing could be further from the truth.” Doctors also worry about offending their patients and discouraging them from continuing prenatal care. “It’s really tough to go against a woman’s grandmother and mother who are telling her ‘Take it easy, you’re in a delicate state, eat as much as you want.’”

However, obese women are more likely to experience pregnancy complications such as miscarriage, gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia, premature birth, emergency C-sections and stillbirth. New research is also tying mothers’ excessive gestational weight gain to obesity rates in children. A study published last year in the journal Contemporary Clinical Research pointed out that pregnant Canadians now gain more weight than ever: 15 kg or 33 lb., on average, up from the 10 kg or 22 lb. that was considered average four decades ago. We’re also giving birth to the heaviest babies in Canadian history.

Kristi Adamo, the paper’s lead author, a professor of paediatrics and a research scientist with the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group (HALO) at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute in Ottawa, explains that a baby’s experience in the womb is critical to his or her long-term health. “That nine-month period of time is when all of the organs and brain develop. If you provide a suboptimal environment, the baby isn’t destined for disaster, but it sets her up for a more challenging situation outside of the womb. It’ll be an uphill battle,” Adamo says.

A huge number of Canadian children are already experiencing that struggle. More than 30 percent of children are overweight or obese and struggling with related complications: Type 2 diabetes, early onset puberty and, later on, their own obesity-related fertility problems, to name a few. Children born to mothers who exceed guidelines for gestational weight gain—even by a smidge—are four times more likely to be overweight by preschool. They’re also more likely to remain overweight by age 12, which puts them at risk of struggling with their weight into adulthood.

It’s with an eye to helping the next generation avoid this uphill battle that Adamo and her colleagues have been working on a set of custom tools designed to help pregnant women chart a healthier course. While one of those will help guide doctors through conversations with expectant moms on healthy behaviours and weight gain, the crown jewel of the set is a smartphone app designed to give moms-to-be a personalized weight management system. The app, SmartMoms-Canada, is currently undergoing tests in the US with Adamo’s American counterparts, who are funded by the National Institute of Health. It blends both calorie-counting and physical activity advice based on each user’s pre-pregnancy body mass index, weight-gain trajectory and stage of pregnancy.

For those already turning the page at the idea of a calorie-counting app—pregnancy is already chock full of confusing do’s and don’ts at a time when surplus energy is scarce—Adamo, a mother of two, asks you to hear her out.

“We are not fat bullies. We’re trying to help Canadian women and the next generations. I absolutely recognize the challenges, particularly in the first trimester when women might be suffering from nausea and food aversions, and they’re exhausted. The message that needs to get through is that every little bit counts,” she says. “We’re not asking women to train for a marathon. We’re asking them to do the things they should be doing anyway, when they’re not pregnant. That might simply be walking. We have to recognize that pregnancy is not an excuse to throw all healthful behaviours out the window.”

The app may take longer to debut in Canada than in the US. Funding for its Canadian customization has been approved by the Public Health Agency of Canada, but there’s a hitch: The grant requires Adamo and her colleagues to find a private-sector partner to fund the second half of the two-million-dollar project. Their goal is to create the first medically evaluated app of its kind (meaning doctors would be comfortable recommending it to patients) in hopes that it might one day be covered by the healthcare system.

“This is something that should be available to everyone,” Adamo says. “Today’s women expect continuous feedback and decision-making help in the moment—it can’t wait until your next OB appointment. ”

In Susan Clinton’s mind, having personalized guidance at her fingertips in the grocery store and for her daily food choices would have transformed her pregnancies, and possibly her family. She and her husband had initially hoped to have four children, but they amended plans after her third pregnancy, which resulted in a 75-pound weight gain and her biggest baby yet—a 15-pound boy.

“At the end of the third pregnancy it was like, clearly, I can’t do this again,” says Clinton. Even though she managed to return each time to her pre-baby weight, she became more desperate for advice on how to eat right, and angrier that she couldn’t find a support system, like Weight Watchers, designed for expecting women. “In each pregnancy, I reached a point where I gave up,” she says. “If that sense of losing control hadn’t taken over, I bet I wouldn’t have gained that much.”

Clinton is convinced that had she had more guidance, her babies would have been born smaller and perhaps healthier. While no major, long-lasting health problems have occurred so far, Clinton was deemed “high-risk” before giving birth, all three times, by C-section (which carries its own risks). Clinton’s sons, who are now six, 10 and 12 years old, are at a higher risk for obesity. For now, their active lifestyles are keeping them at a normal weight for their ages, she says. But she does worry. “They are not obese children. Whether they’ll have issues when they slow down, I don’t know.”

A version of this article originally appeared in the September 2014 print issue with the headline “Gaining on us,” p. 41-4.

Read more:
Why do I have pregnancy cravings?
Healthy tips for postpartum weight loss
Plus-size pregnancy

Stay in touch

Subscribe to Today’s Parent’s daily newsletter for our best parenting news, tips, essays and recipes.

• Email*
• CAPTCHA
• Consent*

  Yes, I would like to receive Today’s Parent‘s newsletter. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.**

FILED UNDER: Maternal health obesity Pregnancy September 2014 weight gain

Weight during pregnancy. What increase is considered optimal?

Why is excessive weight gain during pregnancy particularly harmful? What should be the calorie content of the diet? How to build your diet so that you can eat varied (and tasty), but at the same time not gain too much? Let’s figure it out.

What makes up weight gain during pregnancy?

An increase in the subcutaneous fat layer during pregnancy is a normal and natural process.

While the baby is growing inside you, he needs energy and external protection. But during pregnancy, weight increases not only and not so much due to the adipose tissue of the mother: there is more fluid in the body, the uterus grows, the fetus and placenta develop, and the breasts increase in preparation for the feeding process.

Interestingly, weight loss during the period of toxicosis can later provoke its increase: the body will try to regain what was lost.

Expectant mothers especially actively gain weight in the second trimester and the beginning of the third, but closer to childbirth, a pregnant woman can even lose 1-2 kilograms.

As long as the weight increases more or less evenly and does not go beyond the upper limit of the norm, there is nothing to worry about. But if your weight is rapidly going up, you should be wary.

How to correctly calculate the weight, and what increase is considered optimal?

In Russian obstetric practice, it is generally accepted that the total gain should not exceed 12 kg. for the entire pregnancy. Of these 12 kg. 5-6 accounts for the fetus, placenta, amniotic fluid, another 1.5-2 – for an increase in the uterus and mammary glands, and only 3-3.5 – for the fat mass of a woman.

But this is a general indicator, a kind of “average temperature in the hospital. ” The optimal increase is calculated individually and depends on the initial weight of the pregnant woman, her age, the number of fetuses and the size of the child (children), physical activity.

WHO recommends that optimal weight gain be calculated based on Body Mass Index (BMI).

It is determined by the formula: body weight (kg) / height squared (m).

How to calculate the optimal weight gain?

To do this, use the following chart:

• Calculate your BMI: divide your initial weight in kg. for height in meters squared.

For example, your “pre-pregnancy” weight was 60 kg with a height of 170 cm.

BMI = 60: (170 x 170) = 20.76.

• A BMI of less than 18.5 indicates underweight. Indicators from 18.5 to 25 are within the norm, from 25 to 30 are above the norm, and a figure greater than 30 indicates obesity.
• Now that you know your BMI, find the optimal weekly increase in the table and compare it with yours.

Week of pregnancy	Underweight before pregnancy (BMI less than 18.5)	Normal pre-pregnancy weight (BMI 18.5 to 24.9)	Overweight before pregnancy (BMI over 30)
4	0-0.9 kg	0-0.7 kg	0-0.5 kg
6	0-1.4 kg	0-1 kg	0-0.6 kg
8	0-1.6 kg	0-1.2 kg	0-0.7 kg
10	0-1.8 kg	0-1.3 kg	0-0.8 kg
12	0-2 kg	0-1. 5 kg	0-1 kg
14	0.5-2.7 kg	0.5-2 kg	0.5-1.2 kg
16	up to 3.6 kg	up to 3 kg	up to 1.4 kg
18	up to 4.6 kg	up to 4 kg	up to 2.3 kg
20	up to 6 kg	up to 5.9 kg	up to 2.9 kg
22	up to 7.2 kg	up to 7 kg	up to 3.4 kg
24	up to 8.6 kg	up to 8.5 kg	up to 3.9 kg
26	up to 10 kg	up to 10 kg	up to 5 kg
28	up to 13 kg	up to 11 kg	up to 5.4 kg
30	up to 14 kg	up to 12 kg	up to 5.9 kg
32	up to 15 kg	up to 13 kg	up to 6. 4 kg
34	up to 16 kg	up to 14 kg	up to 7.3 kg
36	up to 17 kg	up to 15 kg	up to 7.9 kg
38	up to 18 kg	up to 16 kg	up to 8.6 kg
40	up to 18 kg	up to 16 kg	up to 9.1 kg

Recently, doctors are increasingly talking about an individual approach and urge not to panic if the increase is slightly beyond the normal range. When assessing the state of health of a pregnant woman, the doctor focuses not only on weight, but also takes into account the results of tests and examinations and other important indicators.

Why is excessive weight gain dangerous?

Gaining extra pounds can lead to gestational diabetes, hypertension, preeclampsia, or cause a caesarean section.

In addition, excessive weight gain during pregnancy may increase the risk of obesity and associated cardiovascular disease.

What can I do to keep my weight within normal limits during pregnancy?

First of all, consult a nutritionist. If there is no such doctor in the antenatal clinic, it makes sense to contact a specialist on a commercial basis. He will develop an individual diet, which will contain all the useful elements, and will offer to keep a food diary. It will also tell you how to eat right and weigh yourself.
To prevent excessive weight gain during pregnancy, it is enough to follow simple rules of a healthy diet:

• Eat often and in small portions;
• Always keep a “healthy snack” on hand: fresh apple wedges, unsweetened crackers, dried fruit, or sugar-free yogurt;
• Refuse soda, chips, sausages and sausages;
• Minimize sweets;
• Avoid fast food;
• Limit the use of condiments, especially salt, which retains water in the body;
• Choose steamed dishes;
• Eat more fiber-rich foods such as whole grain bread, bran, vegetables;

The diet of a pregnant woman should be varied. Include grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, meat and fish, legumes, or nuts.

It must be remembered that expectant mothers should never starve and adhere to extreme diets.

How many calories per day do you need during pregnancy?

It is difficult to calculate the energy value per day on your own, and then strictly adhere to a certain number of calories, and it is not necessary, unless it is recommended by a nutritionist or endocrinologist. On average, you can aim for 2000-2500 calories per day, but it is important to understand that the need for calories depends on many factors: age, initial weight, health status and level of physical activity.

When should I be on the alert?

Strictly speaking, it is better for a pregnant woman not to worry and entrust her condition to a doctor who will control the development of pregnancy, analyzes and monitor weight. It is important to take tests to determine the level of fasting blood glucose once a trimester. The appearance of glucosuria, an increase in fasting blood glucose (more than 5.5 mmol / l) or an hour after a meal (more than 7.7 mmol / l) indicate the possible development of “diabetes in pregnancy”, in connection with which the doctor will prescribe appropriate treatment . In addition, a sharp increase in body weight can cause preeclampsia.

These and other diseases can be dangerous, which is why you need to carefully monitor the body weight during the gestation period, but remember that pregnancy is not the time for strict diets.

When using any materials from the site nutriclub.ru, a link to the site is required.

© Nutriclub, 2020

You will also be interested

1. Nutriclub – healthy nutrition and child development

2. Pregnancy

3. Mom’s health and well-being

4. weight during pregnancy. What increase is considered optimal? – Nutriclub

Weight gain during pregnancy – how not to gain weight?

Contents:

• What are the optimal weight limits?
• Pregnancy Weight Chart
• How to weigh yourself correctly during pregnancy
• Why does weight gain occur?

During pregnancy, it is important for a woman to eat a varied diet so as not to deprive the unborn baby of essential minerals and nutrients. Both excessive weight gain and weight loss are equally dangerous. But evidence suggests that more than half of European and American women gain more weight during pregnancy than recommended ¹ . So now is the time to give up what does not bring any benefit, but only extra pounds: sweet, fatty, fast food. Being overweight can cause problems during pregnancy and childbirth.

What are the optimal weight limits?

Average weight gain during pregnancy is about 10-12.5 kilograms ² . But a child is born weighing 3-4 kilograms, where does everything else come from and when does the excess go away?

In addition to the fetus itself, the uterus and breasts become larger in preparation for feeding. Muscle and fat increase – the body stores energy.

This is how the kilograms gained by a woman during pregnancy are distributed ³ :

2.7-3.6 kg – muscles and fat, they give the expectant mother an additional source of energy,
0.45-1.4 kg – breasts in anticipation of feeding,
0.9 kg – amniotic fluid,
1, 4-1.8 kg – blood and organic fluids, thanks to which the child receives the necessary oxygen,
0.9 kg – the uterus (20 times more than its usual weight),
0.7 kg – the placenta, the main element through which the fetus receives nutrients.
Add the weight of the unborn baby, and you get the approximate mass that a woman gains in nine months.

Doctors say that everyone is individual and there are no uniform standards for how many kilograms to gain during pregnancy. But let things take their course, there is something horrible and you can’t completely forget about the scales. Watch your weight – you will avoid many problems during pregnancy and childbirth and easily return to your previous weight. You will have “strategic reserves” for feeding the baby. Don’t worry, those extra pounds will go away as quickly as they appeared. But only on the condition that you eat right during pregnancy and lactation.

Pregnancy weight chart

The recommended weight gain during pregnancy for women with a normal body mass index is 11.5-16 kilograms. Those who are overweight during pregnancy are advised to gain a little less – from 7 to 11.5 kilograms. Those who are expecting twins or triplets, on the contrary, should score more. For example, in a multiple pregnancy with twins for a woman of normal weight, the recommended weight gain is from 16.8 to 24.5 kilograms ³ .

Trimester weight gain during pregnancy varies ³ . A woman gains the least during the first trimester – from 1.6 to 2.3 kg. Nausea in the first trimester usually causes loss of appetite and some weight loss may occur.

In the second and third trimesters, a woman gains an average of 200 to 500 g per week.

Weight gain during pregnancy: weekly chart, weight in kilograms

Week	Minimum	Average weight	Maximum
14	1.1	1.5	1.9
15	1.6	2	2.4
16	1.9	2.3	2.8
17	2.2	2.8	3.4
18	2.5	2.8	3.4
19	3	3.7	4.5
20	3. 5	4.2	5
21	3.9	4.7	5.6
22	4.2	5.2	6.2
23	4.6	5.7	6.9
24	4.9	6.1	7.4
25	5.3	6.6	8
26	5.6	7	8.5
27	6	7.5	9
28	6.3	7.9	9.5
29	6.7	8.3	9.9
30	7	8.7	10.4
31	7.3	9	10.8
32	7.5	9.4	11.3
33	7.8	9.7	11.7
34	8.1	10.1	12. 1
35	8.4	10.5	12.6
36	8.6	10.8	13
37	9	11.2	13.5
38	9.3	11.6	14
39	9.4	11.7	14.1
40	9.5	11.8	14.2

How to weigh yourself correctly during pregnancy

Doctors do not recommend weighing yourself daily, it is not always informative, fluctuations are not always noticeable, the error is large, and in general this can lead to unnecessary worries. The correct option: control the weight once a week, in the morning, on an empty stomach. It is important to use the same scales, now the priority is “dynamics”. Weigh yourself only at home or in the office of your gynecologist.

Why does weight gain occur?

The cause of excess weight is hormonal changes in the body, which is why the expectant mother constantly feels hungry. Many pregnant women decide that now they need to eat for two. No need. Just eat twice as good – more varied, more correct, but not more.

Sources:

* Not a drug. dietary supplement. There are contraindications. ** Estimated period of use within the Elevit line of vitamin and mineral complexes. According to the instructions, Elevit Pronatal can be used at the stage of pregnancy planning, during pregnancy, after childbirth and during breastfeeding.

1. Healthy maternal nutrition: a better start to life report WHO, Regional Office for Europe 2016.
2. https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/pregnancy/how-much-weight-will-i-put-on-during-my-pregnancy/
3. Poston L. Gestational weight gain // https://www.uptodate.com/contents/gestational-weight-gain, accessed 07.10.2018.

CH-20220504-32

“During pregnancy I lost 20 kg – the doctors did not understand what was happening”

• Vinicius Lemus
• for BBC Brazil

11 December 2019

Sign up for our ‘Context’ newsletter to help you understand what’s going on.

The author of the photo, Photo from the personal archive

Photo caption,

Micheli with her husband at the celebration in honor of the unborn child

32-year-old Micheli Munoz dreamed of becoming a mother – so when she found out that she was expecting a child, she was not happy limit. However, the pregnancy was very difficult and turned into almost continuous suffering for the expectant mother.

She was in constant pain, it was difficult for her to breathe and move around. For days on end, she lay in bed in complete apathy. During pregnancy, Michelle lost almost 20 kilograms in weight.

Trying to find the cause of her health problems, she went to several doctors, but they all said that these were just side effects of a difficult pregnancy and that her condition was the result of depression and frequent nausea.

• Scientists: cancer immunotherapy is less toxic and prolongs life
• Oncologist Vera Pieters, who saved the lives and beauty of thousands of women
• Shut off oxygen to the cancer. The essence of the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 100 and 500 words

“Sometimes I suspected that things were more serious, but in the end I believed what the doctors said,” Micheli recalls.

It is common for women to put on weight during pregnancy – especially after the first three months. If the expectant mother has a healthy body mass index (BMI of 18 to 25), she can gain an additional 12-16 kg.

If a pregnant woman is usually thin, she can put on up to 18 kg. And if the expectant mother is overweight, then she will most likely be prescribed a strict diet during pregnancy; if it is observed, the weight may not change much.

During the first trimester, women sometimes do lose weight, as some pregnant women often experience nausea and vomiting due to hormonal changes. However, even in the most severe cases, weight loss usually does not exceed 10% and ends by the end of the first three months.

The author of the photo, Photo from personal archive

Photo caption,

This is how Micheli looked before pregnancy

Micheli’s son was born prematurely. She herself was so weak that she could not even hold him in her arms.

More than a month later, she went to another doctor, who finally diagnosed her with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a malignant disease of the lymphatic system.

“He said it was a miracle that my son and I were still alive,” Micheli recalls.

Severe pregnancy

Skip the Podcast and continue reading.

Podcast

What was that?

We quickly, simply and clearly explain what happened, why it’s important and what’s next.

episodes

The End of the Story Podcast

Micheli and her husband, 39-year-old Jonatas Biasiou, have been trying to have a baby since the spring of 2016. It was not easy to do this – Michelle’s chances of getting pregnant were greatly undermined by two gynecological diseases she had suffered.

She had to endure two surgeries and four months of hormone therapy – and finally, in October 2017, doctors told her that she was pregnant.

“It was absolutely incredible. There are no words to express the feeling of happiness that overwhelmed me,” says Micheli.

However, due to past illnesses, the pregnancy was difficult.

“From the very beginning, I was overcome by nausea, which did not go away,” she recalls. “The doctor said that until the fourth month it was normal. But I literally could not eat anything. weight loss has only accelerated.”

As a result, his health problems only worsened. She became short of breath, it became difficult for her to move, she was forced to stop teaching (Micheli is a professor of history and sociology). According to doctors, depression could be the reason for this.

“I was sent for examinations to a cardiologist, endocrinologist, nutritionist and hematologist. I went for a follow-up examination every week. They took blood tests – and something was wrong with the results, but the doctors said that all this was due to pregnancy,” she says.

The author of the photo, A photo from the personal archive

Photo caption,

Micheli immediately after giving birth

“I was so weak. I lay in bed all day, sorting out the rosary, and prayed to the Lord to give me strength,” says Michele, a deeply religious Catholic.

The fact that she ate almost nothing worried her husband very much: Michelle’s organism did not accept any solid food. But the doctors said that this was normal – and in the end she switched completely to a liquid diet.

The condition of the pregnant woman continued to worsen, but doctors still believed that this was due to depression, nausea and other complications due to pregnancy.

“I first went to the best specialists in the region, but they didn’t find anything,” explains Micheli.

According to Silvana Quintana from the University of São Paulo, a pregnant woman losing 20 kg of weight is by no means the norm: “Even for obese patients, this is too rapid weight loss, which indicates some serious problems.”

“I didn’t have the strength to take my son in my arms”

In her seventh month of pregnancy, Micheli felt a sharp pain in her stomach. The hospital said she needed an urgent caesarean section because the baby could die from lack of amniotic fluid.

Little Samuel was born on May 7, 2018. In general, the boy was healthy, but due to severe prematurity, he was immediately placed in an incubator.

The author of the photo, Photo from the personal archive

Photo caption,

Micheli and Samuel

For Micheli herself, the birth was difficult, because it was very difficult for her to breathe. It is only later that she learns that her breathing problems were caused by fluid that had accumulated in her lungs as a result of her lymphoma.

After giving birth, she was so weak that she could not even hold the baby in her arms.

“I didn’t have any energy at all. People thought I must have had postpartum depression or that I was just a monster, but I just couldn’t physically do it,” she says.

Micheli spent another week in the hospital – most of this time she slept. She saw her son several times in the incubator, but was never able to pick him up. She also could not breastfeed the newborn due to health problems.

Samuel lay in the incubator for 15 days, but was completely healthy. He didn’t even need a respirator.

“There is almost no blood left in my body”

40 days after giving birth Michelle was still very weak. Her whole body still hurt, and her skin began to turn pale, so the relatives decided to urgently take her to a new doctor.

The doctor was amazed when he learned about the 20 kilograms lost by the patient. During the examination, he discovered swelling in the region of the lymph nodes in her – and sent her for further examination.

First, Michelle had to have an emergency blood transfusion. “There is almost no blood left in my body,” she says.

Image copyright, Getty Images

Image caption,

This is what Hodgkin’s lymphoma cells look like

A few days later, tests revealed that Michely was suffering from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic tissue involved in immunity.

By this time, the disease had already reached her heart and lungs, the lymph nodes were swollen under her arms and in her groin.

“I had fluid in my heart and lungs, which made it hard for me to breathe,” she explains.

Cancer was diagnosed at the last, fourth stage. When exactly the disease began is unknown, but late diagnosis allowed the disease to develop.

“When the doctor told me the diagnosis, I hung my head and sobbed. It sounded like a death sentence,” Micheli recalls.

“I knew there was a cure for this type of cancer,” her husband continues, “But the disease was already at such an advanced stage and Michely was so weakened that I was not at all sure that she would survive the therapy.”

In the middle of last year, almost two weeks after her diagnosis, she started chemotherapy.

Michele’s doctor, haematologist Suelen Rodriguez Stallbaum, confirms that diagnosing lymphoma during pregnancy can indeed be very difficult.

Fortunately, the mother’s illness had no effect on little Samuel’s health. As Stallbaum explains, because cancer cells are found in the lymphatic system, they are rarely passed on to the unborn child.

Within six months, Micheli underwent 20 chemotherapy sessions. The first one was the hardest. In the second month of treatment, her hair began to fall out. But in the third month, she was finally able to take her son in her arms – and “it was an indescribable feeling.