Pregnancy Concerns: Gaining Weight
When you're pregnant, you hear a lot of different things about weight gain and what's normal e.g. ‘a kilo a month is normal’, ‘it depends on your size’ etc. This can cause panic, but don’t fret; here's a guide to make things clearer, help you make the most of your weight gain and view it as a positive experience.
It is a popular misconception that maternal weight gain in an indicator of fetal well being. There are several indicators of well being of the fetus. However, weight gain during pregnancy is not an effective indicator of a healthy pregnancy.
It's also common to hear people say things like, "a kilo a month is normal, or it depends on your size, etc. Our advice is to not fret and ignore what people are saying.
The amount of weight you gain during your pregnancy depends on many factors. It also largely depends on your weight before you conceived.
Pregnancy weight gain also has certain guidelines. If you weighed a healthy number before getting pregnant, you should ideally only gain 9kg - 12 kg during pregnancy.
The ideal weight gain during the first trimester is about 1-2 kg. Some women even end up losing weight in the first trimester due to morning sickness. In the next two trimesters, you will ideally gain about one kg a month. If you put on a little more, don't be too hard on yourself.
Distribution of weight
The weight benefits mother and baby in different ways. Here is an idea of the spread:
Baby: 3 - 4kg
Womb: 900g
Placenta: 500g
Breast: 400g
Blood volume: 1.5kg
Lipids: 2 - 3kg
Water retention: 2kg
Not all women are alike, so this is just a guide. Do use your doctor or midwife to monitor and estimate your weight gain as it also depends on the state of your health.
