Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Pregnancy Weight

Are we gaining too much weight when we get pregnant? I know I felt like I did the second time around, but my doctor said I was doing fine. Comparing the pictures from my first pregnancy to my second, WOW! I gained a lot more the second time!

Here's a baby calculator so you can see how much weight you are supposed to gain based on your height and weight before pregnancy.

Here's a story we ran on WHOI that sparked my interest in this topic:

Government research reveals pregnant women are packing on more pounds these days - added weight that increases their health risks. Doctors generally recommended that women gain between 25 and 35 pounds during pregnancy when they're expecting a single baby. Too little weight gain can put the baby at risk for malnutrition and small size, while too much weight increases health problems for the mother.

But new government research finds American women are increasingly gaining more than 40 pounds - something that doctors rarely advise. That's because women who gain such excess weight are at greater risk for pregnancy-related diabetes and high blood pressure. They also are more likely to suffer complications during birth. The new statistics show in 2005, 20 per cent of women gained more than 40 pounds during pregnancy, compared to 15 per cent of pregnant women in 1990.

White women were more likely to gain excess weight than black or hispanic women. Doctors advise pregnant women to eat a healthy diet without too much saturated fat, soda, or desserts. But they also say women should not diet during pregnancy because consuming too few calories can harm the baby's development.

Experts say the average pregnant woman carrying one child should eat about 24-hundred calories per day. And some good foods to eat during pregnancy include foods high in folic acid like peas, asparagus, papayas, and strawberries. Experts also recommend pregnant women to take a prenatal vitamin with folic acid to prevent certain types of birth defects.
So how much weight did you gain? Do you think it was too much?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

2 comments:

Maria said...

I gained around 20kg... I'd have to check my Muttipass, but the doctor in Germany was unconcerned, as was the midwife. Actually, they told me that it was necessary to gain that weight due to my lower weight to begin with, plus I was working out and eating a well-balanced healthy diet. I had no "pregnancy-based health complications." Until the last two weeks, I did not retain excess water, etc.

I did step-aerobics through month seven, and after that was walking a lot each day (30 plus minutes of brisk walking at a minimum).

At the time I thought it was too much, because I was worried about losing it post-partum, but a year later, I am 10 pounds lighter than I was when I got pregnant.

Conference call... but you get my point, I think.

Jennifer said...

I was right in the middle of the spectrum, gaining around twenty-seven lbs during each pregnancy. Of course, with kids born one year apart, I hadn't lost all the weight from the first one when I started gaining weight during the second pregnancy.

 
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