Pregnancy and Weight Gain

:webmd.com

2012/10/12

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Gaining the right amount of weight during pregnancy by eating a healthy, balanced diet will help your baby get the nutrients he or she needs and to grow at a healthy rate.

Though you do need some extra calories, it's not necessary to ''eat for two.'' You probably need only 100 to 300 more calories than you did before you got pregnant to meet the needs of your growing baby.

Ask your health care provider how much weight you should gain during pregnancy. A woman of average weight before pregnancy should gain 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy. Underweight women should gain 28-40 pounds during pregnancy. Overweight women may need to gain only 15-25 pounds during pregnancy.

In general, you should gain about 2 to 4 pounds during your first three months of pregnancy and 1 pound a week for the remainder of your pregnancy. If you are expecting twins you should gain 35 to 45 pounds during your pregnancy. This would be an average of 1 ½ pounds per week after the usual weight gain in the first three months.

If you are expecting twins, you should gain 35 to 45 pounds during your pregnancy. That's an average of 1.5 pounds per week after the usual weight gain in the first three months. It's especially important to gain the right amount of weight when you're expecting twins, because your weight affects the babies' weight. And because twins are often born before the due date, a higher birth weight is important for their health. When carrying twins, you may eat between 3,000-3,500 calories a day.