What is a healthy pregnancy weight gain?

I remember talking to an elderly family member who related to me the pregnancy diet advice she received from her mother-in-law. “You are eating for two now!”  Wanting to be a goodmother (don’t we all?) she diligently doubled her food intake – and then had a terrible time attempting to loose her “baby weight”.

During my mother’s childbearing years, doctors added the weight of the baby, the placenta, the amniotic fluid, and maybe a little bit for breast development and strictly limited women to this weight gain. (about 15 Lbs.)  Fortunately birthing women and their doctors have rejected both extremes and realized that women are NOT all the same and a single size advice does not fit all women.

Food nourishes both the growing baby and the pregnant woman.  You need protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals to grow a healthy baby.  Focus MORE on healthy eating and moderate exercise than on a specific weight gain and you will likely eat the correct amount for you and your baby.

If you have eaten a poor diet, you may actually loose a little bit of weight as you change the chips and soda for fresh fruit and vegetables!  If you are eating well and loosing weight, you may be in this category.  Not sure if you are eating right?  Keep a food diary and compare it with recommendations.

In general, pregnant women need an additional 100-300 more calories per day than what they needed before becoming pregnant.  That isn’t really that much, so look for foods that give you a lot of nutrients for the calories.

http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp001.cfm

• Underweight women gain 28-40 pounds
• Normal weight women should gain 25-35 pounds
• Overweight are better staying in the 15-25 pound range
• Obese women gain around 15 pounds

You don’t need to gain much weight during early pregnancy.  For a woman with average weight,  2-3 Lbs during the entire first trimester is sufficient.  Then, as the baby begins to grow expect to gain about 3-4 Lbs each month.

Link to another page – what does weight indicate? – adequate food intake, blood expansion, retention of fluids…

Foods nourish more than just the body.  – Good nutrition during pregnancy is VERY important but food nourishes more than just the body.  What foods “feed” the inner you?  Make a list.  Cross out foods that could be dangerous to your baby or cause too much weight gain.  Now look at your list.  Regularly include foods that are nutrient dense.  Occasionally enjoy a small serving of foods that you really enjoy even if they are not as nutrient dense as other foods.

Nourish yourself and your baby!

This is a great link to general recommendations by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology:

https://www.acog.org/womens-health

Editors

Faith Bontrager, RN

Lina Wong, DO