Information about Healthy Weight Gain During Pregnancy

When you are pregnant, you may have heard of the idea of "eating for two" and think it means you can eat twice as much – It is not true! Even though you have a little person inside of you, you can't just eat whatever you want. Junk food will not be the best food for you or your baby.

It is important for the pregnant woman to be careful about her weight gain during her pregnancy. While it is not good to gain too much weight, it is also not good to not gain enough weight during pregnancy.

Too Much Weight? Too Little Weight? What's The Effect?

If you gain too much weight during your pregnancy, you are more apt to have an early birth or a large baby. You are also at greater risk of having a Cesarean surgery, which is much more dangerous for both the mother and the baby. Also, the mother who has gained too much weight during pregnancy is likely to have backaches, leg pains, high blood pressure, varicose veins, and be more tired, as well as potentially having gestational diabetes.

If you don't gain enough weight during pregnancy, the baby is more likely to be small (under 5.5 lbs) and is at danger of other complications.

What's A Girl To Do?

If you started at a healthy weight, over the course of the nine month pregnancy you should gain 25-35 lbs. It can be done by just adding 300 more calories a day to your diet. During early pregnancy, specifically the first trimester, most women gain 4-6 lbs. During the second and third trimesters, it averages out to about a pound a week.

If you were overweight before conception, you should aim for only gaining 15-25 lbs. That amounts to just a pound every two weeks during the last two trimesters of your pregnancy. While you don't want to gain too much, be careful to not try to lose weight during pregnancy, as that is not healthy for your baby.

For the woman who was underweight prior to conception, she will need to gain a bit more, aiming for 28-40 lbs.

If you are expecting multiples, your total weight gain during this pregnancy should be 35-45 pounds.

What's All That Weight For? The Baby's Only Seven Pounds!

Actually, with an average pregnancy, the baby is 7.5 to 8.5 pounds. Cushioning the baby is about 2 lbs of amniotic fluid. The placenta, which nourishes the baby, is about 1.5 to 2 lbs. The breast tissue increases by about 1.5 to 2 lbs, in preparation for nourishing the newborn. The uterine muscles increase by 2 – 2.5 lbs. There is water stored in the mother's body (about 4 pounds), and maternal stores of 8 lbs. Oh, and the blood volume increases by about 3 pounds.

What About Afterwards?

If you keep your weight gain during pregnancy to the proper amount, recuperating from pregnancy will be easier. Breastfeeding will help considerably, as nourishing your babe with your breasts uses 1000-1500 calories a day. That helps to use up the fat stores that the body saved for that very purpose. If you want to lose weight further, getting exercise is a great idea. Not only will it help with weight loss and build muscles, it will also help with flexibility, increases self-esteem, and helps reduce depression, even postpartum depression. Even if you don't need to lose weight, having a regular exercise plan can be beneficial.