Pregnancy Weight Gain

Pregnancy is a joyous, yet difficult time for a young ‘to be’ mother. After all, soon she will be responsible not just for herself, but also for someone who is utterly helpless without her. Just the thought makes me break out in cold sweat. Apart from the magnitude of responsibility that is new to her shoulders, she has to contend with hormonal changes that make her a weepy mess of emotions and the very apparent change in the way she looks.Weight gain during pregnancy is a must for a healthy mother and child, and is not as easy to take off, as it is to put on. It is even more difficult to forget this fact, as one monitors the pregnancy week by week weight gain. This article presents a pregnancy weight gain chart, that should help you to monitor your pregnancy weight gain by week.

Facts about Pregnancy

Some facts to remember about pregnancy weight gain by week are listed below:

• Weight gain during pregnancy is a must for a healthy child. Don’t skimp on food to prevent a hefty weight gain as this can increase the risks of foetal retardation.
• As a general rule, monitor your weight only once a week. Doing it too often will make you feel lousier. Don’t be discouraged by a weight gain that is more than expected, for the pregnancy weight gain graph is very rarely a smooth curve.
• Use the online weight gain calculators, that make all the calculations for free. This is because your weight gain and how much you show, depend on various parameters like your height, weight, abdominal muscle tone, baby size , etc.
• Even though weight gain is a must, don’t let the monitoring stop. Too much weight gain can lead to delivery complications, often increasing the chances of a cesarean delivery. There is also a risk of an obese baby or of the mother retaining too much weight post delivery.
• Before planning a pregnancy, try to achieve a normal BMI. An overweight pregnancy carries higher risk of serious complications of pregnancy, like gestational diabetes and preclampsia. They may even have trouble starting and continuing breastfeeding.
• An underweight pregnancy or low weight gain during pregnancy increases the risk of delivering a preterm infant or even low birth weight of the baby. Babies under 5.5 pounds show seroius health problems and stand low chances of survival.

All pregnancy weight gain by week calculations, differ from person to person. They are made on a woman’s specific BMI (Body Mass Index). A woman’s BMI is calculated by dividing her weight in kilograms by her height in meters square. There are many websites on the Internet that offer free BMI calculations. You can categorize yourself as underweight, normal, overweight or obese, based on your pre-pregnancy BMI calculations. A BMI of less than 18.5 is categorized as underweight. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.5 is normal, while that between 25 and 29.9 is overweight and anything above 30 is obese. Depending on your categorization, your pregnancy weight gain graph should follow one of the tables below. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) gave the following figures in its May 2009 report, highlighting the pregnancy weight gain by trimester.

Pre-pregnancy Weight Gain BMI Weight Gain Normal 18.5 to 24.9 25 to 35 pounds Underweight Below 18.5 28 to 40 pounds Overweight 25 to 29.9 15 to 25 pounds Obese More than 30 11 to 20 pounds

If one is carrying twins, you should be gaining more than what the chart suggests and your pregnancy care giver will guide you on those pregnancy weight gain figures. As a normal weight woman, you should roughly gain about 25 to 35 lbs during your pregnancy. This should be translated as gaining 4 lbs every 4 weeks, over the last two trimesters of your pregnancy. If you have a healthy weight before pregnancy, you should gain 3 to 5 pounds during the first trimester and 1 to 2 pounds per week during the second and third trimesters. Your weight gain should follow the following pregnancy weight gain calender (all figures are in kilograms).

Weeks Minimum Weight Gain Maximum Weight Gain Normal Weight Gain 0 0 0 0 2 0.13 0.18 0.15 4 0.13 0.18 0.15 6 0.13 0.18 0.15 8 0.13 0.18 0.15 10 0.13 0.18 0.15 12 0.64 0.90 0.77 14 0.64 0.90 0.77 16 0.64 0.90 0.77 18 0.64 0.90 0.77 20 0.85 1.20 1.03 22 0.85 1.20 1.03 24 0.85 1.20 1.03 26 0.85 1.20 1.03 28 0.85 1.20 1.03 30 0.64 0.90 0.77 32 0.64 0.90 0.77 34 0.64 0.90 0.77 36 0.64 0.90 0.77 38 0.64 0.90 0.77 40 0.64 0.90 0.77

If you are underweight before pregnancy, you should gain 5-6 pounds or more in your first trimester. You should gain 1-2 pounds per week in the second and third trimesters. Your pregnancy week by week weight gain should progress as follows(all figures are in kilograms).

Weeks Minimum Weight Gain Maximum Weight Gain Normal Weight Gain 0 0 0 0 2 0.14 0.21 0.17 4 0.14 0.21 0.17 6 0.14 0.21 0.17 8 0.14 0.21 0.17 10 0.14 0.21 0.17 12 0.72 1.03 0.87 14 0.72 1.03 0.87 16 0.72 1.03 0.87 18 0.72 1.03 0.87 20 0.96 1.37 1.16 22 0.96 1.37 1.16 24 0.96 1.37 1.16 26 0.96 1.37 1.16 28 0.96 1.37 1.16 30 0.72 1.03 0.87 32 0.72 1.03 0.87 34 0.72 1.03 0.87 36 0.72 1.03 0.87 38 0.72 1.03 0.87 40 0.72 1.03 0.87

If you are overweight before pregnancy, you should gain around 1 or 2 pounds during the first trimester and approximately 1 pound per week during the last 6 months. Your pregnancy weight gain graph should progress as follows (all figures in kilograms).

Weeks Minimum Weight Gain Maximum Weight Gain Normal Weight Gain 0 0 0 0 2 0.08 0.13 0.10 4 0.08 0.13 0.10 6 0.08 0.13 0.10 8 0.08 0.13 0.10 10 0.08 0.13 0.10 12 0.39 0.64 0.51 14 0.39 0.64 0.51 16 0.39 0.64 0.51 18 0.39 0.64 0.51 20 0.51 0.85 0.68 22 0.51 0.85 0.68 24 0.51 0.85 0.68 26 0.51 0.85 0.68 28 0.51 0.85 0.68 30 0.39 0.64 0.51 32 0.39 0.64 0.51 34 0.39 0.64 0.51 36 0.39 0.64 0.51 38 0.39 0.64 0.51 40 0.39 0.64 0.51

If your pre-pregnancy BMI suggests that you are obese, the pregnancy weight gain calculator suggests the following weight gain schedule for you (all figures in kilograms).

Weeks Minimum Weight Gain Maximum Weight Gain Normal Weight Gain 0 0 0 0 2 0.08 0.13 0.10 4 0.08 0.13 0.10 6 0.08 0.13 0.10 8 0.08 0.13 0.10 10 0.08 0.13 0.10 12 0.39 0.64 0.51 14 0.39 0.64 0.51 16 0.39 0.64 0.51 18 0.39 0.64 0.51 20 0.51 0.85 0.68 22 0.51 0.85 0.68 24 0.51 0.85 0.68 26 0.51 0.85 0.68 28 0.51 0.85 0.68 30 0.39 0.64 0.51 32 0.39 0.64 0.51 34 0.39 0.64 0.51 36 0.39 0.64 0.51 38 0.39 0.64 0.51 40 0.39 0.64 0.51

Relax, think of all this as scaling Mount Everest. The climb may be no fun at all, but reaching the top is definitely worth it. Take the pregnancy weight gain by week schedule seriously, and be sure to follow your pregnancy weight gain chart. Ensure that you eat for two. Know that your heart has enlarged itself, to reach a capacity to pump blood for both of you (almost 20% more). Know that your uterus grows more than 1000 times its original size, to accommodate your little one. Help your body to deal with all these changes. Eat enough proteins, carbohydrates and essential vitamins and minerals. Wish you a happy weight gaining and good luck with losing weight later!

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