What Is A Normal Weight Gain In Pregnancy?
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Pregnancy is an important time to eat smart, since the caloric requirement of pregnancy only increases by about 300 calories per day. Pregnancy is the time in your life when you need to pay particular attention to your health, exercise and your exposure to stress. Healthy eating helps ensure that the baby will have a healthy birth weight and will not be born with infections or other problems, reduces the risk for premature birth, builds up fats and fluids for use during breastfeeding, and reduces the risk for complications during pregnancy. Women who are underweight prior to pregnancy should gain a little more, and overweight women, a little less. For women whose BMI is normal, the recommended weight gain over the course of the pregnancy is 25 to 35 pounds. Pregnant women should consult a physician or midwife if they have questions about how much weight they can expect to gain on a week-to-week basis during pregnancy.
Nutrition during the preconception period, as well as throughout a pregnancy, has a major impact on pregnancy outcome. There is also a direct correlation between ethnicity, age, marital status, and educational status with increased negative pregnancy outcomes, such as low birth weight. Recommendations for weight gain during pregnancy are based on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) definitions of prepregnancy BMI range. Few studies have included women in their first trimester, so the importance of first-trimester weight gain on pregnancy outcome is unclear. Poor weight gain during pregnancy is associated with prematurity, low birth weight, and small for gestational age.
Traditionally, caloric requirements during pregnancy have been estimated to be around an additional 300 calories per day. However, this must be adjusted for physical activity and pre-pregnancy weight for the recommended number of servings of food groups). To meet weight-gain recommendations, a woman with a low pre-pregnancy BMI and a high activity level would require more calories than a woman with a high pre-pregnancy BMI and a sedentary lifestyle. Exercise is considered healthful for most pregnant women, who should be encouraged to continue to exercise at pre-pregnancy levels. Beginning any new exercise program during pregnancy, and, if medically advised, should avoid certain activities.
Food cravings during pregnancy are common and are not cause for concern, provided other nutrient needs are met and weight gain is in the target range. Gestational diabetes is associated with high prepregnancy BMI and excess pregnancy weight gain.
How much water do I need to drink during pregnancy. In order to satisfy the fluid requirements of pregnancy, consume at least six to eight eight-ounce glasses of water every day, in addition to juices. Fluid consumption affects all aspects of pregnancy.
It is very important to gain the weight if you want a healthy baby with no complications during the pregnancy and delivery. Everybody knows that women who keep themselves away from good nutrition during her entire pregnancy tend to have smaller, sickly babies who will require intensive hospital time and will have a higher risk of problems including neonatal death. It’s important to realize that normal weight gain during a pregnancy is not laying down as much maternal fat stores as one may think. Women who are gaining too much weight during pregnancy should follow the guidelines for healthy eating: avoid foods that do not have nutritional value and consult your midwife or dietician.
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