Pregnancy Weight Gain
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When discovering they are pregnant, the first issue that goes through many women's mind is pregnancy weight. Although not many years ago doctors were cautioning their pregnant patients against weight gain, most people today understand that calorie intake and weight must go up in order to ensure a properly nourished baby and mother. However, no women wants to experience excessive and difficult to lose weight gain. Finding the balance between healthful and excessive weight gain leaves many women confused.
In order to properly ascertain how much weight they should gain, women need to calculate their BMI, the relation of their height to their weight. A woman with a healthy BMI should probably gain around 25 to 30 pounds. A woman with a low BMI should up that amount to 28 to 40 pounds. Finally, an overweight woman should keep her weight gain around 15 to 20 pounds or, if she is obese, 11 to 20 pounds. Of course, if twins are in the picture, the weights change: 37 to 54 pounds for a regular BMI, 31 to 50 pounds for a low BMI, 31 to 50 pounds for a high BMI, and 25 to 42 for an obese BMI.
All pregnant women should keep in mind that these weights are mere estimates. For a more accurate estimation of the weight you need to gain, check with your doctor. Only they can know your personal situation and health needs.
Links:
babycenter.com
Baby Center.com provides an excellent resource for understanding pregnancy weight gain. Not only does it explain the basics of why a pregnant women should gain weight, but it also gives estimates for how much weight different women should gain, depending on their pre-pregnancy height and weight. The site also contains links to frequently asked questions and their answers.
en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia's section on pregnancy contains an informative although brief paragraph on proper weight gain. The selection explains why pregnant women need to gain weight and what could possibly happen if they do not gain enough. It also explains that the National Health Service's weight gain recommendation is 25-30 pounds.
pregnancy.about.com
About.com provides this helpful article on pregnancy weight gain. The article starts by explaining old fears about pregnancy weight gain and then continues to elaborate on why those fears were wrong and why women need to gain weight. It also explains how to gain weight and how much weight individual women should gain.