Each pregnant woman has different characteristics that make it difficult to generalize in this regard, and factors such as age or our exercise habits can make the ideal weight gain figures during pregnancy variable.
Therefore, it will always be the specialist doctor who will have the last word and to whom we must go regularly to monitor the development of the baby and our state of health. But, taking into account that there are such individual peculiarities, as a general rule, how much should a pregnant woman gain weight?
An ideal weight for every woman
The recommendations of the SEGO (Spanish Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics) are based on the BMI (body mass index) of the woman prior to pregnancy for gestations with a single baby (for twins it is another):
|
BMI |
Advisable weight gain |
|---|---|
|
<18.5 |
From 12.5 to 18 Kg |
|
18.5-24.9 |
From 11.5 to 16 Kg |
|
25-29.9 |
From 7 to 11.5 Kg |
|
> 30 |
From 5 to 9 Kg |
In general, taking into account an average BMI, the ideal weight gain is between 11.5 and 16 kilos , an increase that preserves the health of the baby, allowing its proper development, but also that of the mother, who does If you lose weight, you will have a harder time coping with a healthier pregnancy, delivery and postpartum.
It is common to hear that you have to gain a “kilo per month”, which would give a total of 9 kg throughout the pregnancy and, however, -as we see in the table- women with a low BMI can gain up to 18 kg without being a problem, something that gives us an average of two kilos per month and that makes the advice wrong.
How is weight gain distributed in pregnancy?
Obviously, the person responsible for such weight gain will not be exclusively the baby, who usually weighs about 3 kilograms at term. To this must be added the weight of the amniotic fluid, the placenta, the uterus, the increased blood volume of the pregnant woman, the fluid retention …
If we take into account an average weight gain towards the end of pregnancy, the kilos are distributed as follows:
- Blood volume : between 1.3 and 1.8 kg
- Breasts : the increase in the size of the breasts is between 0.8 and 1 kg
- Uterus : 0.9 kg
- Baby : between 3 and 3.6 kg average
- Placenta : between 0.9 and 1.3 kg
- Amniotic fluid : 0.8 and 1 kg
- Fat reserve : between 2.8 and 3.6 kg
- Retained liquid : between 1.5 and 4.5 kg
Weight gain throughout pregnancy
Weight gain is not usually identical during each month of pregnancy. It is usual that, largely due to nausea and discomfort, during the first trimester you gain very little weight .
Because later in pregnancy it is more difficult to control weight gain, and it is also when more weight is gained, it is easier to avoid excessive gain during the first few months. In this way we compensate for the unstoppable flood at the end.
A balanced diet and exercise
The important thing then is not to limit what you eat, because it is not the time to do it, but to choose well what the woman eats. We can achieve that during pregnancy there is no excess weight thanks to a complete and varied diet , together with the usual practice of adequate physical exercise.
In this way we will avoid complications derived from being overweight, such as high blood pressure, eclampsia, gestational diabetes, delayed growth of the baby in the womb, premature birth, significant bleeding during childbirth …
It will be our doctor or midwife who will advise us on what is the best diet and exercise for us, always avoiding homemade diets to lose weight. In this way we will achieve the ideal weight gain during pregnancy , our body and our baby will appreciate it.
In Babies and more | What happens if I gain a little weight during pregnancy?
