Most pregnant women are always worried about weight gain during pregnancy. Once you become pregnant, weight gain turns inevitable. However, if you’re not sure as to how much weight you should gain, this article can surely help you in knowing how much weight should you gain during pregnancy.
Weight gain during pregnancy depends mainly on two factors:
The relationship between your weight and height is expressed in a number known as “Body Mass Index” (BMI). This is usually calculated in medical institutions. Bear in mind that the appropriate guideline for weight gain during pregnancy is usually issued by the Institute of Medicine (IOM).
Recently, in May 2009, the institute came up with latest recommendations as follows:
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If you had a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 before pregnancy, this means your weight was in a healthy range. Hence, you’re likely to gain 25 – 30 pounds during pregnancy. You’ll gain 1 to 5 pounds in the first trimester of your pregnancy. An extra 1 pound will then be added each week for the rest of your pregnancy periods. This helps a lot for the right growth of your baby.
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If you had a BMI of 18.5 or below before pregnancy, this means you were underweight. You’re expected to gain 28 – 40 pounds when the pregnancy occurs.
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If you had a BMI of 25 – 29.9 before pregnancy, this means you were already overweight. You’re expected to gain 15 – 25 pounds during pregnancy.
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Again, if you’re going to have twins, you’re likely to gain 37 to 54 pounds especially if you had a normal weight before pregnancy. If you’re overweight, you’re likely to gain 31 to 50 pounds.
You can always get to know how much weight you’ll gain by visiting your doctor. However, some pregnancy and baby websites provide you with pregnancy weight gain estimator to help you find out the appropriate weight you should gain during pregnancy. This is usually based on your pre-pregnancy weight and your height. Thus, you must be aware of your height so that the weight can be calculated.
Maintaining the Recommended Weight Gain
In order to stay within the threshold of recommended weight gain during pregnancy, you need to eat healthy pregnancy diet. You don’t need to eat extra for the baby. Simply follow the antenatal instructions as given by your doctor. By doing so, you will be able to maintain a considerable amount of weight throughout the pregnancy period.
Make sure you visit the antenatal clinic for proper medical attention. This will help you maintain your weight all through the pregnancy period.