Each visit of a pregnant woman to a antenatal clinic begins with a weigh-in. The fact is that weight gain is one of the indicators by which gynecologists make conclusions about the course of pregnancy and the development of the fetus.
The norms of weight gain during pregnancy are one- fertile in the range of 6-18 kilograms. If a woman is expecting twins or triplets, then an increase of 16 to 21 kilograms is considered normal.
The rate of weight gain during pregnancy for expectant mothers of different complexions is different. It is determined based on the body mass index, which is calculated as follows: weight before pregnancy in kilograms should be divided by height, translated into meters and squared. For example, a woman’s body mass index is 166 centimeters tall and weighs 60 kilograms will be 22 (weight 60 divided by height 1.66 squared).
The thinner a woman was at the beginning of pregnancy, the more kilograms she was allowed to gain. Permissible weight gain during pregnancy can be found in the following table:
| BMI | Permissible increase, kg |
underweight | less than 18.5 | 12.5-18 |
normal weight | 18.5-25 | 11.5-16 |
overweight | 25-30 | 7–11.5 |
obesity | over 30 | Until 6 |
What is the weight gain during pregnancy?
The woman’s body is preparing for the upcoming birth and the period of breastfeeding, it actively accumulates fats and stores such an amount of intercellular fluid that will avoid dehydration during and after the birth of the baby. If all these additional kilograms are translated into numbers, then we will see what the weight gain is made of:
- 3-4 kilograms - a child;
- 0.5–1 liter - amniotic fluid;
- 0.3-0.8 kilograms - the placenta;
- up to 1 kilogram - uterus;
- 1–1.4 liters - blood, the volume of which increases during pregnancy;
- up to 3 kilograms - glandular, adipose and muscle tissue;
- up to 2 liters - intercellular fluid.
Why is weight gain monitoring during pregnancy necessary?
The fact is that a significant shortage of body weight can serve as an alarm. Perhaps the fetus experiences oxygen starvation and does not receive the necessary amount of nutrients, as a result of which a full-term baby will be born with a weight of less than 2500 grams. He may have physical and neurological abnormalities in development. In some cases, maternal malnutrition can even provoke a miscarriage. Adequate weight gain is also important for the woman herself. If you go on diets and restrict your diet during the whole pregnancy, then the body simply will not be able to make all the necessary adjustments, as a result, there will be difficulties during childbirth, severe postpartum physical weakness, emotional stress and depression. Significant problems with the establishment of lactation are possible.
Obese women should be observed by a gynecologist from the very first weeks of bearing a baby, because they have a high risk of having a child with birth defects. Overeating and excess weight gain during pregnancy can also harm the mother and the baby. Extra pounds create a big burden for the spine, especially in the situation of preparing the body for childbirth, when the bones and joints become more mobile. Excess weight gain can provoke a life-threatening condition such as pre-eclampsia of pregnant women, or late toxicosis. Perhaps this is the main reason that gynecologists carefully monitor the weight of expectant mothers and strongly recommend that you follow a special diet if you see increases in excess of the weekly rate. Women should not ignore such advice. First, you can, as they say, “feed” the baby and end up with difficult and difficult births. And secondly, then it will be difficult to bring yourself into the form that mom had before pregnancy.