Pregnancy And Weight Gain

A pregnant woman always wonders about certain things- 

what she should eat, what not to eat, whether she will gain 

too much weight, how will she lose the baby weight etc.

In this 'losing the weight as soon as you deliver the baby' 

phenomenon, many women are seriously concerned about 

getting back into shape immediately. And that isn't a good 

thing always. Every woman is different with varied body 

shapes and pregnancy affects a woman's body in different 

ways.

The amount of weight you should gain during pregnancy 

depends on your pre-pregnancy weight. The emphasis is on 

a gradual and consistent pattern in weight gain. Total 

average weight gain is around 12kgs, during your 

pregnancy phase.

The normal pattern of weight gain is approximately 1 to 2 

kilos during the first three months, followed by 0.4 kilos per 

week or 1 to 2 kilos per month during the final six months. 

However, this pattern differs from women to women.

Dietician says - 'The best way to start a pregnancy is by 

having a healthy weight. Gaining healthy amount of weight, 

based on your weight before pregnancy, will help you have 

a more comfortable pregnancy and delivery.'

Important points

Gaining too little weight will make it hard for the baby to 

grow properly or gaining too much weight will make you 

have a longer labour and more difficult delivery. Further, it 

will also make it harder for you to return to your normal 

weight post-delivery. 

If you are worried about, how to lose that additional weight 

post pregnancy, then the dietician says - 'it took nine months 

to put it on; it will take that long, or more, to take it off 

sensibly. Healthy eating habits, plenty of physical activity 

and breastfeeding will all help.'