Weight Gain During Pregnancy
Weight Gain
The ideal woman of the 1800s was built for comfort, not speed. She was a stout, hearty Brunhild. Since pregnancy was a “delicate” condition, she remained in “confinement” like a fragile flower and probably ate herself into oblivion out of boredom. The turn-of-the-century Gibson girl “porked up” because she was eating for two. In the 50s and 60s, the tide turned; fat was unfit. Gaining more than 10 pounds during pregnancy supposedly gave you toxemia, and eating salt was a sin. The tide turned again by the 70s and 80s. Since today’s nonpregnant ideal is the slim, trim health food jogger, what’s considered ideal for the pregnant woman these days?
To eat or not to eat is no longer the question. According to the Committee on Nutritional Status, during Pregnancy, a weight gain of 25 to 35 pounds produces the healthiest babies. Pregnancy is no time to lose weight. If you’ve spent the better part of your adult life fighting flab, you may have to adjust your mind-set. For some, the expectation to gain weight is akin to dying and going to hog heaven. These are the women who lose control and gain 60 pounds before they regain their senses. For others who fought the hard fight and were winning the battle of the bulge, the prospect of calling even a temporary truce can be disheartening.
It may help your adjustment to understand why you need to gain those extra pounds. There’s a direct correlation between adequate maternal weight gain and healthy babies. Newborns who weigh between 6-1/2 to 8 pounds are healthier and just do better. Low birth weight babies, those under 6 pounds, generally have a higher rate of stillbirth, neonatal death, poor infant development, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and lowered intelligence. In contrast, those women who choose hog heaven run the risk of having much larger babies which may complicate labor. The lesson is to avoid feast or famine. There’s a happy medium.
The rate at which you gain is just as important as how much you gain. Slow, steady weight gain during the whole pregnancy is ideal. A gain of more than 6-1/2 pounds in a month is too much; less than 1/ 2 pound in 1 month after the first trimester is too little. The formula is simple to follow. You’ll probably gain about 2 to 4 pounds by the end of the twelfth week, depending on how nauseated you are. After that, the usual weight gain is I pound a week for the last 28 weeks. If you’re overweight, you should still gain 15 to 25 pounds. Overweight women who gain less than 15 pounds have infant mortality rates twice those of overweight women with adequate weight gains. Consult your doctor for more specific recommendations based on your individual weight.
During the second trimester, the weight you gain is added to your own fat stores. These are the new, more lush contours you notice on your abdomen, breasts, hips, and thighs. This is important because during the third trimester, when the baby is gaining weight rapidly, your metabolism changes. The weight stored during the second trimester nourishes your body, while the calories you consume go to your growing baby. Mother Nature also stores those extra pounds in preparation for breast-feeding.