Pregnancy Weight Gain
No matter what you weigh prior to getting pregnant, you must put on pregnancy weight. The average pregnancy weight is 25 pounds. A safe pregnancy weight gain for clinically over weight women will be 15 to 20 lb. Whilst pregnancy weight gain for underweight women will be on average 25 to 35 lb, depending on severity of weight problem. Multiple births will need to gain more pregnancy weight.
Why do I need to gain pregnancy weight?
Pregnancy weight gain is essential for you and your body. You are meant to because your body is growing and changing. Underweight mothers tend to have smaller, less healthy babies who require more hospital time, and have a higher incidence of neonatal death.
Here's where the pregnancy weight comes from.
- When the baby is born, on average then weigh 7.5 lb
-Breast weighs an extra 1lb
-Extra fluids and blood volume increase and extra 8lb
-The uterine muscle layer thickens dramatically to carry the developing baby, putting on an extra 2-3 lb
- An extra 6lb is attributed to the increase fat store to provide extra energy for breast feeding.
So on average pregnancy weight gain in women will need to put on around 25lb .
Diet
Eating for two does not mean eating twice as much, especially during the first trimester. In general, over the whole pregnancy you will not need to add anymore then 10% in calories per day ( 200-300 ). However, it is what you eat that is really important.
A well balanced diet is a balance of grain, fruits and vegetables, proteins, fats and dairy, as opposed to junk food that is full of fats and sugars.
During the first trimester, most woman will notice a slight pregnancy weight gain, usually about 5 pounds. Most of this pregnancy weight gain is water gain. Increase in calories during the first trimester is generally not required. Rather you'll need to increase your intake of certain nutrients - mainly folate, iron and calcium, to maintain optimal foetal development and your own health.
In the second and third trimesters, pregnancy weight gain will be fairly evenly spread out, about a pound a week. There might be a bit more at the end. Again, this is an average figure for someone of clinically average weight. If you are over or underweight, about 1.25 pounds a week is quite normal and safe.
