I don't understand pregnancy weight gain - can anyone explain to me?

[katsbump]

I was low-end of a normal bmi before pregnancy. I reached 36 weeks yesterday and have gained 22 lbs. Seems good to me. I have to admit, apart from a snack in the middle of the night, maybe 100 to 200 calories worth whatever it is, my eating habits are pretty much identical to pre-pregnancy, pretty healthy with some treats. So I'm curious, my weight gain has been pretty much a lb or half a lb a week and maybe 2 lbs in first tri. So obviously the baby, placenta and fluid only weigh so much. So where does the other weight come from? I keep sweet cravings in check and if I have gained a lot in a week or two I'd think, okay, fewer donuts and more oatmeal and vegetable sticks, but the reality is that that one pound a week has been really consistent. So do pregnant bodies just create fat more easily out of food? I don't think I could have just gained 20 lbs by 40 weeks without basically dieting (or eating considerably less or differently than I used to), but I have heard of some obstetricians advising such a weight gain for people with normal bmis. Also, the nhs and Irish rules recommend less weight gain than north America (the high end here is 30 lbs I believe). Is that not really hard for a lot of people? Do people in Ireland and England actually gain less than those in Canada and the US? Anyway, I'm just really curious about the reasons behind the seemingly consistent and largely unstoppable pregnancy weight gain.

 

[Mum2BKW]

I'm 27 weeks and have gained about the same as you

I know a lot of weight is the extra blood (50% more than pre-pregnancy by the end) that your body produces, and also a lot of water retention. Then there is the extra weight of your boobs growing, and other things like the size of the uterus itself (not to mention what's inside it!)

 

[CatherineK]

Pregnancy also changes your metabolism, andhow your body stores and handles food. I don't pay attention to guidelines. Just eat normal and healthy and your body will guide you. 20 is normal for some people, other people gain 50 or more withou eating excess. Doctors guidelines constantly change. When I was born 40 years ago, doctors told women here not to gain more than 10-15 lbs total. When my mother gained ten pounds in 20 weeks, her doctor out her on diet pills! Then a few years later, women were encouraged to gain lots, now it's a mid ground, but I honestly ignore the scale, and use health, blood pressure, etc, to measure how I'm doing.

 

[katsbump]

The changed metabolism makes sense to account for inevitable weight gain. Poor ladies 40 years ago - that's a lot of pressure!

 

[Cassie96]

I only know some reasons...

Your blood doubles by 50% which is alot!
You have about 8lbs worth of baby, 3lbs worth of waters, 3lbs worth of placenta, an extra 2lbs worth of boob which increase when real milk starts to come in(even though it makes you loose weight), your uterus will have stretched which is about 1lb, your hair and skin will of got thicker which will equal to about 1lb, so there's 18+lbs.
And then there's your matabilisym which changed during and after pregnancy

Don't worry about gaining weight though cause its not healthy, I've only put 10lbs on in my whole pregnancy and the midwife always tells me to put weight on? It's really hard as I wasn't one of the skinny girls before I fell pregnant, I was a size 16-18 normal clothes, and now I'm all baby and have shrunk right down and wear size 14 maternity clothes and I've just gone and baught a dress size 12 which fits me perfectly! (a little tight around my 40+3 bump) but its for after I've had my baby anyway.

Anyway, don't worry about it, just remember to keep healthy, that's all that matters x

 

[Dani_Ldn]

Here's something I read on the weight gain for an average full term pregnancy (although I have put on more weight than it states!).

Baby - 7.5 pounds
Placenta - 1.5 pounds
Amniotic fluid - 2 pounds
Uterine enlargement - 2 pounds
Maternal breast tissue - 2 pounds
Maternal blood volume - 4 pounds
Fluids in maternal tissue - 4 pounds

= 23 pounds (1.6 stone, 10.4 kg)

 

[d_b]

I think that 40 years ago women were encouraged to smoke during pregnancy to keep their weight down, lol.

 

[tristansmum]

Your body also stores up some fat for breast feeding I believe. I think aslong as its not wildly small or wildly large amounts of weight then dont worry too much. If you feel you are eating normallly and keeping active then your body is just doing what it needs to do. Everyone is different. Someone said about 2lb of extra boob... well my boobs are exactly the same size at 35 weeks as they were at 0 weeks. So we all gain differently.

 

[Preggo79]

I am 35 weeks and have gained so far about 26-27 lbs, and my ob/gyn said it's ok. I gained though about 22 lbs in the first 26 weeks and then, because of a stomach flu at about 31 weeks, I actually lost about 4 lbs, but now I am back on track. I do not know how the other doctors are, but mine wants me not to gain more than 35 lbs and frankly speaking I do not believe I'll gain more than 30 lbs.
However, I know small frame ladies that did not gain more than 20 lbs during pregnancy, and both they and their babies were ok, so I would not worry that much about this, although I know how it is, as I myself worry about anything. Good luck!

 

[katsbump]

Your body also stores up some fat for breast feeding I believe. I think aslong as its not wildly small or wildly large amounts of weight then dont worry too much. If you feel you are eating normallly and keeping active then your body is just doing what it needs to do. Everyone is different. Someone said about 2lb of extra boob... well my boobs are exactly the same size at 35 weeks as they were at 0 weeks. So we all gain differently.

I'd say half the weight has gone to my boobs. Gone are the days of a nice nearly B chest (I really liked having small ones) and hello to giant boobs complete with stretchmarks!

 

[thecurlymama]

I'm 28 weeks and 5 days today... My midwife appointment was today and have gained around a steady 1-2 lbs/month for my entire pregnancy so far. My pre- pregnancy weight was 130-135 and I'm now 152. It feels like a TON of extra weight to pull around, but it's actually on the lower end of the scale according to state "average" or what's considered healthy (I live in Washington State). So, in total I've gained about 20lbs total at 7 months.

I honestly would feel fine if I had gained more- I might be worried if I was gaining any less because my LO was measuring a little bit under at this last appointment.

I really have been craving sweets like crazy haha. I eat almost all organic food, and have a relatively steady and healthy diet (same as pre-pregnancy), but honestly I hate the ideals for pregnancy weight gain. UGH, as long as you and baby are healthy all is well!



Ohh- and I don't eat less carbs or sugars or anything if I gain a little bit more weight in a week/month/whatever ... like this month I gained 4lbs! (which was suggested) after I'd been gaining a steady 1/2 lbs and I know I've been eating some extra carbs and sweets... but they were good! and I don't regret it!

 

[stardust1976]

It really does depend on each individual and her metabolism.

This pregnancy (I'm just on 26weeks), I have only now hit my pre-pregnancy weight. I started out at 135lbs, and this week have managed to creep back up to it, having lost 4kgs (bit over 8lbs) during the first trimester. I eat pretty well - I eat breakfast which I never normally do, I eat lunch and I snack on chocolate and fruit and cookies mostly, and I eat a healthy dinner every night. I usually snack after dinner too. Yet, I still can't put on weight.

With my other 4 kids, the only one I gained anything decent with was the first. I gained 26lbs and she was born at 40weeks at 6lbs,2oz. The other three I gained between 4 and 6kgs (8 -13lbs), all were born between weeks 37 and 39, and all were between 6lbs,2oz and 7lbs,7oz.

I ate anything I wanted, never restricted myself so a lot of that was junk too and I just have a good metabolism. (I also have pretty big boobs and they become ginormous during pregnancy, so assume a lot of my small weight is from them).

As long as your doctor is happy that the baby is growing, what you gain is usually normal for you and you shouldn't compare your weight to others. Every one is different.

 

[lily28]

I'd say half the weight has gone to my boobs. Gone are the days of a nice nearly B chest (I really liked having small ones) and hello to giant boobs complete with stretchmarks!

Same here, I went from A to D almost overnight ... And LOTS of amniotic too. Docs and MWs are amazed by the amount of the fluid I have in my belly. Plus the bigger the belly (I have an inpressive one for my size) the more the tissue that has been created, as the uterus is a giant muscle.