Weight gain for pregnant mums

It’s important that you gain an appropriate amount of weight during your pregnancy.

Too much weight is bad news for pregnancy symptoms such as backache and fatigue, and also increases your risk of pregnancy diabetes and other complications. It can also make it difficult for your OB-GYN or nurse-midwife to assess your baby’s size. Too little weight gain means your baby may be born prematurely and suffer developmental problems.

The key to your weight gain is of course a healthy and nutritionally sound dietary intake. See healthy diet in pregnancy for further help in this area. If you’re of average weight prior to becoming pregnant, experts reckon 25-30 pounds is the ideal weight gain across your pregnancy. Underweight women should gain 28-40 pounds, but overweight women should try to keep overall weight gain at 12-25 pounds.

A steady weight gain is what your caregiver will be looking for – two to four pounds in your first trimester and a pound a week through the rest of your pregnancy. If you haven’t gained any weight for a couple of weeks, or you’re gaining lots without overeating, mention it to your caregiver. Importantly, pregnancy is no time to try and lose weight because you could seriously affect your baby’s health if you do.

You can work out your healthy weight for your stage in pregnancy by using our pregnancy weight calculator.

If you want to talk to other pregnant women about weight gain, you can do this on the guide to pregnancy area of our chat forum. Remember you can upload a photo of your baby bump into our gallery.

The information in this feature is intended for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your health, the health of your child or the health of someone you know, please consult with a doctor or other healthcare professional.