How Much Weight Gain is good for your Pregnancy?

Weight gain is part of the natural flow of things and allows your baby to grow.  Your physician will give you recommendations for how your weight should increase over the time of the pregnancy.  Keeping your weight gain within these parameters will seriously decrease your probabilities of developing unwanted things like the dreaded stretch marks, fatigue, breathing problems, varicose veins, indigestion and hemorrhoids.

Your baby is growing and developing and your body is providing the nourishment that your baby needs.  This means that gaining weight throughout the pregnancy is good.  Part of that weight gain is storage for after the delivery and you need to breastfeed your new baby.   The weight is how your body cares for your baby.  For a baby that is about eight pounds at birth, the body will also have almost two pounds of placenta, two pounds of amniotic fluid, two pounds of maternal breast tissue, four pounds of maternal blood, and an amazing seven pounds of maternal nutrients and fat storage.  How much overall weight that is added during the pregnancy duration will depend on your health level when you were impregnated?  Your physician will know what is best for your body and your baby but if you are at a healthy weight level before the pregnancy, you will be need to gain between 25 and 37 pounds during your pregnancy.  The weight gain will be more or less depending on your health level.

Depending what week of pregnancy you are in when you see your physician and what you weight at that point in time, the weight increase should be between three and five pounds at the beginning of the pregnancy or the first trimester,  and between one and two pounds every week thereafter.  This will vary depending on your body weight.  The main objective is a consistent weight gain in order to keep the nutrients in proper supply.  These nutrients are the result of your food intake so it is normal for some variation in your weight as the weeks go by but if there is a drastic gain or loss in the third trimester, alert your physician right away.  This is unnatural and might indicate preeclampsia.

If you happen to be so fortunate to be carrying twins, the weight gain will not double but will increase to between 35 and 45 pounds for a person who is at a healthy weight at inception.  If you are underweight at the time of inception, it may be difficult to gain weight during the first trimester because of morning sickness.  The fetus will not require the amount of nutrients and calories in the first trimester as it will later in the pregnancy.   If there is no weight gain in the first trimester, it is not as much of a concern as it will be later in the pregnancy.

A consistent weight gain is important for a healthy pregnancy.  If there is no weight gain during the entire pregnancy, there can be complications with the birth.  The baby may be underweight or premature.  The baby can end up being born in a malnourished condition.  However, if too much weight is gained during the pregnancy the mother may suffer from leg pain, high blood pressure, backaches, varicose veins, gestational diabetes, increased fatigue and a higher danger of a delivery by cesarean.

Even though most women who are obese during their pregnancy will have a healthy pregnancy and deliver without any problems, there is an increased potential danger that should be monitored carefully by the physician.  The possibility of developing high blood pressure and gestational diabetes is increased.  Also, because of the girth of the mother, the heartbeat of the fetus can be difficult to hear. A larger fetus will make a vaginal delivery very difficult.

To insure a healthy pregnancy, keep up with regular visits to your health care professional, avoid smoking and alcohol, try not to let your weight gain get out of control and go beyond what your physician feels is healthy and eat foods that have a high source of vitamins, protein and minerals.

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