- A normal-weight woman, as measured by BMI or body mass index, should gain between 25 and 35 pounds during pregnancy. A normal BMI, a measure of weight for height, is between 18.5 and 24.9.
- An overweight woman — BMI 25 to 29.9 — should gain 15 to 25 pounds during pregnancy.
For the first time, the guidelines set a standard for obese women — BMI of 30 or higher: 11 to 20 pounds. - An underweight woman — BMI less than 18.5 — should gain 28 to 40 pounds.
- The guidelines say women expecting twins can gain more: 37 to 54 pounds for a normal-weight woman, 31 to 50 pounds for the overweight, 25 to 42 pounds for the obese. There’s not enough information to set recommendations for triplets or more.
But even with the guidelines this is the recomendation for the overweight woman
What if a mom-to-be has gained too much? On average, overweight and obese women already are gaining five more pounds than the upper limit.
But pregnancy is not a time to lose weight, stressed guidelines co-author Dr. Anna Maria Siega-Riz of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
“It’s not, ‘Hey you gained enough, now you need to stop,’ ” Siega-Riz said. “Let’s take stock of where you’re at and start gaining correctly.”
My mom who was only slightly overweight when she had my brother and sister wasn't allowed to gain any weight practically. She gained 9lbs with my brother and 12lbs with my sister and her doctor chastised her the whole time and pretty much harrassed her about weighing in the 160's! With me (slightly more than a decade later), she was encouraged to gain some weight, so gained 22lbs or so. Suffice it to say that I was the highest birth-weight baby.
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