• Skip to content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Shop ModernMom
  • Become An Insider

ModernMom

The premiere destination for moms

  • Parenting
    • Pregnancy
    • Baby
    • Kids
    • Tweens and Teens
    • ModernMom Monday Videos
  • Cooking
  • Living Healthy
    • Breast Cancer
    • Health & Fitness
    • Body after Baby
    • Beauty
    • Relationships
    • Love
  • Lifestyle
    • Crafts
    • At Home
    • Education
    • Travel
    • Pets
    • Decorate
    • Money
    • Brooke Burke
  • Celebrate
    • Holidays
      • Easter
      • Valentine’s Day
      • New Year’s
      • Christmas
      • Hanukah
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
    • Birthdays
    • Parties
  • Must Have
  • Contests
  • Entertainment

Weight Gain From Pregnancy

September 28, 2010 by ModernMom Staff Leave a Comment

When you are pregnant, you don’t have to watch your waistline like you might have before you became pregnant. Being pregnant, however, does not give you license to feast on fast food and donuts all day long, either. Gaining too much or too little can be harmful for you and for your baby, according to the March of Dimes.

Not Too Little, Not Too Much

The best way to gain the proper amount of weight during pregnancy is slow and steady. If you gain too little weight, you increase your risk of giving birth to an underweight baby. If you gain too much, you increase your risk of delivering too early, delivering a large baby or delivering by cesarean section. Too much weight gain in pregnancy can also lead to diabetes, high blood pressure and varicose veins.

Just Right

Your health care provider can tell you exactly how much weight you should gain during pregnancy. Typically, women need about 300 more calories per day during this time. The amount you need to gain depends on your pre-pregnancy weight. The March of Dimes offers a guideline to give you a general idea. If you were a normal weight when you became pregnant, you should gain 25 to 35 lbs. during the nine months. If you were underweight, you should gain about 28 to 40 lbs. If you were overweight, you should only gain 11 to 20 lbs. during your pregnancy.

Eat Healthy

While you can eat more calories per day, you should choose your calories wisely for the health of your baby. Select whole-grain bread instead of white bread. Have some fruit for a snack instead of a cookie, and drink juice that is fortified with calcium and other nutrients.

Why the Weight

Most babies are born weighing 7 or 8 lbs. That only accounts for some of your weight gain. MayoClinic.com explains that your larger breasts account for 1 to 3 lbs., your larger uterus weighs 2 more lbs., the placenta weighs 1 1/2 lbs., the amniotic fluid weighs 2 lbs., the increased blood volume accounts for 3 to 4 lbs., and you store about 6 to 8 lbs. of fat.

Losing the Weight

You will lose much of your pregnancy weight soon after you deliver. After six weeks, most women lose half the weight they gained. Caring for your baby requires a lot of energy, so you should not go on a starvation diet to lose weight, recommends the Baby Center website. Women who breastfeed tend to drop the pounds faster. If you can’t seem to get rid of the baby weight after nine months or so, you might consider going to a fitness trainer or seeing a dietitian.

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Pregnancy

About ModernMom Staff

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Search

Tell a friend

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
ModernMom Boutique

ModernMom TV

Featured

10 Things Nobody Will Tell You About Having A Baby

After reading "20 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Had Kids," I … [Read More...] about 10 Things Nobody Will Tell You About Having A Baby

Must Have

STEM-related Toys to Include in Your Child’s Easter Basket This Year 

April has arrived which means it’s time to pull out the food … [Read More...] about STEM-related Toys to Include in Your Child’s Easter Basket This Year 

Did you know?

average breast size of a woman

The Average Breast Size of a Woman

Baby Hair Growth

Baby Hair Growth

How to Take Wrinkles Out of Polyester With Steam

Juice Vs. Concentrate

Juice Vs. Concentrate

Married Man Hides His Feelings For You

How To Know If A Married Man Hides His Feelings For You

toddler hair growth

Toddler Hair Growth

How Long to Bake a Pre-Cooked Frozen Casserole?

Footer

  • About Us
  • Contact ModernMom
  • Advertise With Us
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contributors

Copyright © 2023 Modern Mom. All Rights Reserved.

Reproduction of any portion of this website only at the express permission of Mom, Inc.

The information provided on ModernMom is for educational use only. It should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.