Info on Weight Gain

The expected mother should be careful about how much weight to gain during the pregnancy. Gaining too much or too little can be harmful to the mother as well as her baby. How many pounds of weight to be added depends on how much was the weight when becoming pregnant. Women gaining proper amount of weight are less likely to have a low birth weight baby (less than 5 1/2 pounds).

If pregnancy begins at a normal weight, then she should gain 25 to 35 pounds over the nine months. Almost 300 extra calories a day must be added to the diet. Most women gain four to six pounds in the first trimester and then a pound per week in the second and third trimester.

If underweight at the start of pregnancy, one must try to  gain a little more. This is because, they tend to have small babies. A 25 to 35-pound gain is usually recommended, so one  should try to gain slightly over a pound a week in the second and third trimesters.

If one begins pregnancy overweight, then she should gain only 15 to 25 pounds. That is, put on one pound weight every two weeks in the second and third trimesters. Never try to lose weight during pregnancy because that could harm the baby. Obese Women should not gain more than 15 pounds throughout their pregnancy.

If one is expecting twins, then she should gain a total of 35 to 45 pounds. That means, about 1 1/2 pounds a week in the last two trimesters. Early weight gain during pregnancy is helpful in case of twins as it helps to ensure that they will not have low birth weights.

The Pregnancy Weight Calculators take the pre-pregnancy weight, height information, current week of pregnancy and current weight as input. With this information, it does certain calculations, and informs about the recommended weight gain per week of pregnancy and tells whether to either gain or lose weight. Most of the calculators offer a chart showing the distribution of increased weight all along the body:

	Weight (in pounds)
Baby	7 ½
Fat	7
Maternal fluids in tissue	4
Maternal blood	4
Breasts	2
Amniotic fluid	2
Placenta	1 ½
Uterus	2
Total	30