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Healthy Pregnancy Weight Gain
Worried you might be gaining too much or too little? Here’s what you should know about pregnancy weight gain.
by: Sydney Loney
In This Article
Pregnancy Weight Gain
- Most women gain between two to eight pounds in their first trimester and about one to two pounds a week in their second and third trimesters.
- Gaining too much weight during pregnancy can put you at greater risk of having high blood pressure and gestational diabetes.
- If you gain too little, you risk having a low birth weight baby or premature delivery.
- Slow, steady weight gain reduces your risk of varicose veins, stretch marks, fatigue and indigestion.
- During the first 10 to 12 weeks of pregnancy, you only need an extra 100 calories a day (the equivalent of a banana or half a cup of yogurt), and an extra 300 calories a day in your second and third trimesters.
eight gain during pregnancy is important for your baby's health and development, but if you're worried about putting on too many extra pounds, here's what you should know about healthy pregnancy weight gain.
How much weight should you gain?
Most women gain between two to eight pounds in their first trimester and about one to two pounds a week in their second and third trimesters, says Daina Kalnins, a registered dietitian at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and co-author of Better Food for Pregnancy. "The most common misconception women have is that they need to gain weight right away," says Kalnins. "But how much you should gain depends largely on your pre-pregnancy weight."
By the end of your pregnancy, you should probably have gained about 25 to 35 pounds if you were at your ideal weight before pregnancy, 15 to 25 pounds if you were overweight and 28 to 40 pounds if you were underweight.
Although your newborn may only weigh-in at just over seven pounds at delivery, the rest of the weight you gain goes to everything from your breasts (2 pounds) and blood volume (4 pounds) to the placenta (1 to 2 pounds) and amniotic fluid (2 pounds).
