Watch Out!

It’s important not to gain too little or too much weight during pregnancy. Gaining too little weight can put you at risk of giving birth to a low-birth weight baby (that is, a baby who is 5.5 pounds or less at birth), who may experience developmental delays, and increases your chances of experiencing still birth or neonatal death. And gaining too much weight during pregnancy increases your chances of experiencing back strain, high blood pressure and preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, macrosomia (an excessively large baby), weight problems after your baby is born, of requiring a cesarean section, and of experiencing the death of a baby through stillbirth or neonatal death. More…

Some women find it hard to believe how much weight gain is required to support a healthy pregnancy. After all, if the baby weighs in at 7 1⁄2 pounds, where does the other 22 1⁄2 pounds of a 30-pound weight gain end up?

If you keep your weight gain within the recommended range, you can expect to lose most of this weight within the first few months after birth. So even though you may worry that all 30 pounds are going to end up on your hips or thighs, you could be pleasantly surprised by how easy it can be to lose this “baby fat” after the deliver. More…

It’s a good idea to keep track of how much weight you gain from the time you learn you are pregnant to the time you have the baby. Knowing your weight status can help your health care provider detect possible problems before they become dangerous.

It’s also a good idea to weigh yourself on the same day of the week and at the same time of day. Your doctor can make a schedule for you so you know how often to weigh yourself and at what time of day. You will also be weighed at your prenatal appointments. More…

There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all pregnancy weight gain recommendation. Your doctor or midwife will take a number of different factors into account when helping you to come up with a pregnancy “gain plan.”

Here are the key how much weight you should aim to gain over the course of your pregnancy: More…