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Pregnancyandbirth:WeightgaininpregnancyPubMedHealth

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Pregnancyandbirth:Weightgaininpregnancy
LastUpdate:March19,2014Nextupdate:2017.

Itisimportantforpregnantwomentohaveabalanceddiet,bothforthemselvesandtheirchild.Thishelpsthem
putonagoodamountofweight.Buthowmuchweightgainisconsideredtobenormalinpregnancy?Can
motherstobeeatasmuchastheylike?Andhowcantheyloseweightagainafterwards?
Dontworrytheweightwillsoondropoffwhenyoustartbreastfeeding!,BecarefulIneverlosttheweightaftermysecond
baby,Eatanythingyouwantyoureeatingfortwo!Aswithsomanyissuessurroundingpregnancy,itcanseemasthough
everyonehasanopinionaboutweightgain.Withallthecontradictoryadvicegoingaround,itcanbehardtoknowwhattodo.

Howmuchweightgainisnormal?
Pregnancycanleadtochangesinmanyofyourdailyroutinesandhabits,includingwhatyoueatandhowmuchexerciseyouget.
Butmostofall:womensbodieschangeduringpregnancysotheirunbornchildrengetenoughnourishmentandotherthingsthey
need.Thesechangesalreadystarthappeninginearlypregnancy,andbecomemoreandmorenoticeableastimegoeson.Women
gainmoreweighttowardstheendofpregnancythantheydointheearlymonths.Thisisnotonlyduetotheweightofthegrowing
baby.Muchoftheweightgainedisextrafluid(water)inthebody.Thisisneededforthingslikethebabyscirculation,the
placentaandtheamnioticfluid.
Medicalguidelinesusedtobequitestrict,withrecommendationslimitingweightgaintoafewkilograms.Nowadays
recommendationsarebasedonwomensprepregnancyweight.Itisnotpossibletorecommendanidealweightgainthat
appliestoallwomen.Petite,underweightwomenmighthavetoputonmoreweightthanwomenwhowereoverweightbeforethey
becamepregnant.

Thebodymassindex(BMI)
Thebodymassindex(BMI)isthemostcommonwaytodeterminewhetherpeopleareunderweight,overweightorhaveanormal
weight.Itisameasureoftherelationshipbetweenweightandheight.ABMIunder18.5isconsideredtobeunderweight,aBMI
between18.5and25isnormalweight,andaBMIbetween25and30isoverweight.IfsomeonehasaBMIover30theyare
consideredtobeveryoverweight(obese).
BMIaloneisnotenoughtosaywhethersomeonesweightislikelytocausehealthproblems,though.Manyoverweightpeopleare
veryhealthy.Itcanbecomemoreofaproblemiftheyhaveparticularillnessestoo,suchhastype2diabetes.However,havinga
BMIabove30(beingobese)islikelytoincreasetheriskofrelatedhealthproblems.

Whatdoguidelinesrecommend?
TheU.S.InstituteofMedicine(IOM)issuesguidelinesthatarefollowedbydoctorsaroundtheworld.Theirrecommendations
aboutBMIandweightgaininpregnancyareasfollows:
Forwomenwhowereunderweightbeforebecomingpregnant(IOMconsiderswomenwithaBMIbelow18.5tobe
underweight):recommendedweightgainofbetween12.5and18kilogramsduringpregnancy.
Forwomenwhohadanormalweightbeforebecomingpregnant(IOMconsiderswomenwithaBMIbetween18.5and24.9
tohaveanormalweight):recommendedweightgainofbetween11.5and16kilogramsduringpregnancy.
Forwomenwhowereoverweightbeforebecomingpregnant(IOMconsiderswomenwithaBMIbetween25and29.9tobe
overweight):recommendedweightgainofbetween7and11.5kilogramsduringpregnancy.
Forwomenwhowereobesebeforebecomingpregnant(IOMconsiderswomenwithaBMIover30tobeobese):
recommendedweightgainofbetween5and9kilogramsduringpregnancy.
Apregnantwomansweightaloneisnotagoodindicatorofhowwellherbabyisdoingnotevenofhowfastherbabyis
growing.Thisdependsonalotoffactors.Itisnotpossibletosayforsurehowmuchthebabywillweighattheendofpregnancy.
Ultrasoundscansandothertestscanonlygiveusaroughideaofhowthebabyisdevelopingandhowmuchheorshemight
weighatbirth.

Canputtingontoomuchortoolittleweightbeaproblem?
Womenwhogainalotofweightinpregnancyhaveahigherriskofcertainhealthproblemsandcomplicationsduringchildbirth.
Forinstance,theyaremorelikelytohaveaverybigchildwithabirthweightofover4,000gor4,500g(macrosomia),andare
morelikelytoneedaCesareansection.
Theyarealsomorelikelytohavedifficultieslosingtheextraweightaftergivingbirth.
Ontheotherhand,ifawomandoesnotgainenoughweightandisundernourishedinpregnancy,itcanharmhergrowingbaby:
babiesarethenoftenborntooearly(pretermbirth)oroftenweightoolittleatbirth.

Veryfastweightgainasasignofhealthproblems
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Veryfastweightgainasasignofhealthproblems
Ifawomanputsonweightverysuddenly,orifshegenerallygainsmorethanhalfakilogramperweek,herweightwillbe
monitoredbyadoctorormidwife.Additionaltestsmightbeneededtoo.
Veryfastandextremeweightgain(suchas1kilogramwithinaweek)canbeasignofhealthproblemssuchaspreeclampsia.
Themainsymptomofthispregnancyrelatedconditionishighbloodpressure,sometimesaccompaniedbynausea,headachesand
dizzinesstoo.Preeclampsiacanbelifethreateningforboththemotherandherchild,anditneedstobetreatedbyadoctoras
soonaspossible.
Puttingonalotofweightinpregnancycanincreasetheriskofwomendevelopingdiabetesinpregnancy(gestationaldiabetes)
oritcanbeasignthattheyhavedevelopedit.Gestationaldiabetesiswherebloodsugarlevelsincreaseinwomenwhodidnot
havediabetesbeforebecomingpregnant.Gestationaldiabetesincreasestheriskofpreeclampsia,andcanresultintheunborn
babyputtingonalotofweight.Havingaverybigandheavybabycandelaythebirthandmakeitmoredifficultforthewomanto
givebirthtoherchildnaturally(spontaneously).
Researchhasshownthatwomenwhohavegestationaldiabetescanlowertheriskofthiskindofproblembychangingtheirdiet
anddoingmoreexercisetoavoidputtingontoomuchweight.
Dietarychangesandmoreexercisecanalsohelplimitweightgainduringpregnancyinveryoverweightorobesewomenwhodo
nothavegestationaldiabetes.However,thishasnotbeenfoundtohelpthemstayhealthierinpregnancyorpreventpossible
problemsduringchildbirth.

Howcanunderweightpregnantwomengainenoughweight?
Ifawomanwhoisunderweightbecomespregnantandfindsitdifficulttoputonweight,shecanseekadvicefromherdoctoror
midwife.Itcouldalsobeagoodideatoseekscientificallysounddietaryadvice.Studiessuggestthatthiskindofprofessional
advicecanhelpwomengainweightandlowertheriskofgivingbirthtooearly(pretermbirth).
Proteinsupplementshavebeenfoundtohelpsomeunderweightwomenincreasetheirweight.Thislowerstheriskoftheirchild
beingbornunderweight,aswellasreducingtheriskofhavingamiscarriage.However,veryproteinrichdietarysupplementswith
aproteincontentofmorethan25%donotappeartohelp.Researchalsosuggeststhattheseveryhighproteinproductsmightlimit
thegrowthofthebaby.Soitisimportanttomakesureyougetabalancedmixofnutrients.Moreisnotbetterinthiscase.

Howcanwomenavoidgainingtoomuchweight?
Somewomensuddenlystarteatingalotmoreinpregnancybecausetheythinktheycaneatandshouldbeabletoenjoy
anythingtheyfancy.Othersmightstrugglewithallthebigchangeshappeningintheirbodyandlife,andfindthemselveseating
more,ordifferentkindsoffoods,tomakethemselvesfeelbetter.Thiskindofemotionaleatingisfineeverynowandagainweall
eattoomuchornaughtyfoodssometimes,whenwerefeelingdownorwanttotreatourselves.Itisonlyaproblemifyoudoit
regularly.Totrytolimittheamountofweightyouputon,itcanhelptobeawareofwhatyoueatandcheckwhetheremotional
eatinghasbecomeahabit.
Researchershavelookedintovariouswaystoavoidputtingontoomuchweightinpregnancy.Theseinclude:
individualdietaryadvice(oftenfromaprofessionaldietitianornutritionist),
changingyourdiet,
cookingclasses,and
exerciseprograms.
Researchhasshownthatacombinationofphysicalexerciseandchangesindietisthemosteffectivewaytokeepfromgainingtoo
muchweightduringpregnancy.Thebestwayofdoingthatwillbehighlyindividual,andeachwomanwillhavetofindtheright
approachforherself.Doctors,midwives,orgooddietitiansornutritionistscanhelpbyofferingadvicehere.

Doeswatchingyourweightpreventstretchmarksandbackache?
Thereisnoclearanswertothisquestionyet.Researcherstriedtofindouthowweightgainaffectsstretchmarks,backacheand
othercommonproblemsduringpregnancy.Theyalsowantedtoknowwhetherweightgainaffectsenergylevelsineverydaylife.
Butthereissurprisinglylittleresearchinthisarea.Althoughtherearemanyclaimsaboutwhatcausestheseproblemsandwhat
mighthelp,noneofthemhavebeenconfirmedingoodqualityresearch.
Whetherornotwomenareaffectedbystretchmarksorbackachenotonlydependsonhowmuchweighttheygainintotal.Factors
likehowfasttheygainweightcanmakeadifferencetoo.Forinstance,gainingalotofweightverysuddenlycancausemore
stretchmarksthangainingweightgradually.Butitisnotclearwhetherstretchmarkscanbepreventedbykeepingyourweight
down.

Losingweightafterhavingababy
Manymothersfindthatittakesawhilebeforetheyreachtheirprepregnancyweightagain.Forsomewomen,feedingandtaking
careofababyareenoughtomeltawaytheweightgainedduringpregnancy:Itisasthoughtheyreallyneedthisstoredupenergy
tohelpgetthroughthefirstfewweeksandmonthsofmotherhood.Butmostwomenwillnotreallygetclosetotheirprepregnancy
weightuntilperhapssixmonthsaftergivingbirth.Womenwhodonotloseweight,orevengainweightinstead,mighthavea
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higherriskofhealthproblems.Theseproblemscouldgetworseinfollowingpregnancies.
Thebestwaytoloseweightisbycombiningachangeindietwithextraphysicalexercise.Programstohelppeoplechangetheir
eatingandlifestylehabitsareoftenusedtotrytoloseweight.Intheresearchontheseprograms,womenstartedweightcontrol
effortsamonthortwoaftergivingbirth,andsometimeslater.Immediatelyafterbirth,mothersneedenoughnutrientsto
breastfeedtheirchild,soitisnotagoodtimeforthemtotrytoloseweight.
Toomuch,ortoosudden,weightlosscanhavedisadvantagestoo.Forinstance,ifyougoonadietthatistoostrictortooone
sidedafterhavingababy,itcouldreducethequalityorquantityofyourbreastmilk.

Howdowomenfeelabouttheirweightinpregnancyandafterwards?
Womenareconstantlysurroundedby(nearlyalwaysdigitallyedited)photosofmodelswithsupposedlyidealbodies.Pregnant
womenareconfrontedwiththesephotostoo.Thismakesitdifficultformanyofthemtobehappywiththeirfigure,anditcan
damagetheirselfimageandenjoymentoftheirbody.Themediaaddtothepressureonpregnantwomenandmothersbyfocusing
alotofattentiononhowquicklycelebritiesreturntotheirprepregnancyfigures.Butwomenneedtogainweightduring
pregnancyandtheycannotexpecttoloseitallagainwithinafewweeksaftergivingbirth.
Butalotofwomenseepregnancyasatimetosimplyenjoytheirbelly,curvesandthebabygrowinginsidetheirbodyandallow
themselvessometimeofffromworryingabouttheirsize.Thatcanbeoneofthereallypleasantpartsofbeingpregnant.
Itcanonlybecomeaproblemifyougettoofaroutofyournormalweightrangeandchangeyoureatinghabitstoomuch.Thenit
mightbehardertogetbacktoyourhealthierprebabyweightandlifestyle.Womenwhodonotbecomeveryoverweightwhen
theyarepregnantwillprobablyfinditeasiertogetbacktonormalafterwards.Butyoudonothavetobethintobehappyand
healthy,andhaveahealthybaby.

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