WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY

After getting pregnant, your body changes every day. Your hormones change so that you get more emotional, you get sick, you have some discomforts due to the pregnancy like sciatica and you gain weight. Gaining the right amount of weight during pregnancy is important for your health and your baby’s health as well as your mental health. Sometimes gaining the right amount of weight can be challenging and stressful. 

Maintaining our healthy weight is important for most of us and while our bodies are changing if we are gaining more than recommended, this can affect us mentally also. When you search online, you will see recommended weight gain charts and where does pregnancy weight gain go information as below.

Pre-pregnancy weight	Recommended weight gain
Underweight (BMI < 18.5)	28 to 40 lbs. (about 13 to 18 kg)
Normal weight (BMI 18.5 to 24.9)	25 to 35 lbs. (about 11 to 16 kg)
Overweight (BMI 25 to 29.9)	15 to 25 lbs. (about 7 to 11 kg)
Obese (BMI 30 or more)	11 to 20 lbs. (about 5 to 9 kg)

Let's say your baby weighs in at 7 or 8 pounds (about 3 to 3.6 kilograms). That accounts for some of your pregnancy weight gain. What about the rest? Here's a sample breakdown:

• Baby: 7 to 8 pounds (about 3 to 3.6 kilograms)
• Larger breasts: 2 pounds (about 1 kilogram)
• Larger uterus: 2 pounds (about 1 kilogram)
• Placenta: 1 1/2 pounds (about 0.7 kilogram)
• Amniotic fluid: 2 pounds (about 1 kilogram)
• Increased blood volume: 3 to 4 pounds (about 1.4 to 1.8 kilograms)
• Increased fluid volume: 3 to 4 pounds (about 1.4 to 1.8 kilograms)
• Fat stores: 6 to 8 pounds (about 2.7 to 3.6 kilograms)

I got the weight gain chart and an approximate breakdown of weight gain during pregnancy information from Mayo Clinic’s website. For further information, you can look up here.