Monday, March 15, 2010

Pregnancy Weight Gain

Clearly, it is quite obvious that you will be experiencing a pregnancy weight gain. After all, there is a person growing inside you. However, what surprises some women is that the average baby weighs around three to four kilograms, yet our pregnancy weight gain is more often between nine and fourteen kilograms. Why is this?

The main reason is that there is more to pregnancy weight gain than simply the weight of the baby. You also need to consider the weight of the placenta, amniotic fluids and membranes. Consider also your water retention, the increase in size of your breasts and the additional blood movements of your body. As you can see, there are a lot of different things the affect pregnancy weight gain. The good news is, you will quickly return to normal after the birth.

It is impossible to say exactly how much of a pregnancy weight gain you should experience; it will be a different amount for different women. For example an underweight person will put on more weight in proportion to their original weight, than an over weight person. Generally, if you can enjoy a mind set of "I'm pregnant, therefore I do not care about my weight", you are more inclined to have a much more enjoyable pregnancy.

One thing is certain; it is dangerous to fight the weight gain. You should not try to remain slim during pregnancy. A pregnancy weight gain is paramount to the health of you and your baby, fighting the weight gain could prove very hazardous to your unborn baby.

If you are worried about the extra weight you are putting on and whether it will come off after the birth of your baby, you're generally worrying without reason. However, if this is the type of thing that keeps you awake at night, it's probably best to address you worries as soon as possible. One way of doing this is to measure the area around your upper thighs once a week; the upper thigh measurement should stay roughly the same throughout the pregnancy, although it can increase dramatically during the last few weeks.

If you do have any pregnancy weight gain concerns the best people to speak with are your midwife and doctor. If they think it is necessary, they will refer you to a nutritionist.

The table below is a guide to the pregnancy weight gain proportions you should expect.

Weight of baby - 39%

Weight of placenta - 10%

Amniotic fluid - 12%

Increase in weight of breast and uterus - 19%

Increase in the weight of blood - 022%

We've also included this table below which shows a pregnancy weight gain guide and which months to expect to put on weight.

Conception to 12 weeks - 0% weight increase

12 - 20 weeks - 25% weight increase

20 - 30 weeks - 50% weight increase

30 - 36 weeks - 25% weight increase

36 - 40 weeks - 0% weight increase

Obviously, it is important to mention that the table above is a guide. For some women it will be different, they will experience pregnancy weight gain right up to the day of birth.

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