Pregnancy Weight Gain By Week

Pregnancy is a joyous, yet difficult time for a young 'to be' mother. After all, soon she will be responsible not just for herself, but also for someone who is utterly helpless without her. Just the thought makes me break out in cold sweat. Apart from the magnitude of responsibility that is new to her shoulders, she has to contend with hormonal changes that make her a weepy mess of emotions and the very apparent change in the way she looks. The increasing show of weight (especially around the tummy region) is bound to make a soon to be mother wonder, if it is all worth it. Believe me, it is, when you hold your bundle of joy in your arms, you are bound to forget your pregnancy weight gain graph. Just don't forget to get it all off, once the baby's out.

Facts about Pregnancy
Some facts to remember about weight gain in pregnancy are listed below:

• Weight gain during pregnancy is a must for a healthy child. Don't skimp on food to prevent a hefty gain as this can increase the risks of fetal retardation.
• As a general rule, monitor your weight only once a week. Doing it too often will make you feel lousier. Don't be discouraged by a weight gain that is more than expected, for the graph is very rarely a smooth curve.
• Use the online calculators, that make all the calculations for free. This is because your weight gain and how much you show, depend on various parameters like your height, weight, abdominal muscle tone, baby size , etc.
• Even though weight gain is a must, don't let the monitoring stop. Too much weight can lead to delivery complications, often increasing the chances of a cesarean delivery. There is also a risk of an obese baby or of the mother retaining too much weight post delivery.
• Before planning a pregnancy, try to achieve a normal BMI. An overweight pregnancy carries higher risk of serious complications, like gestational diabetes, and preeclampsia. They may even have trouble starting and continuing breastfeeding.
• An underweight pregnancy or low weight gain in pregnancy increases the risk of delivering a preterm infant or even low birth weight of the baby. Babies under 5.5 pounds show seroius health problems and stand low chances of survival.

All week by week weight gain calculations, differ from one woman to another. They are made on a woman's specific BMI (Body Mass Index). A woman's BMI is calculated by dividing her weight in kilograms by her height in meters square. There are many websites on the Internet that offer free BMI calculations. You can categorize yourself as underweight, normal, overweight or obese, based on your pre-pregnancy BMI calculations. A BMI of less than 18.5 is categorized as underweight. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.5 is normal, while that between 25 and 29.9 is overweight and anything above 30 is obese. Depending on your categorization, your weight graph should follow one of the tables below. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) gave the following figures in its May 2009 report, highlighting the weight gain in pregnant women by trimester.

Pre-pregnancy Weight Gain	BMI	Weight Gain
Normal	18.5 to 24.9	25 to 35 pounds
Underweight	Below 18.5	28 to 40 pounds
Overweight	25 to 29.9	15 to 25 pounds
Obese	More than 30	11 to 20 pounds

If one is carrying twins, you should be gaining more than what the chart suggests and your pregnancy care giver will guide you on those figures.

Normal Pregnancy Weight Gain
As a normal weight woman, you should roughly gain about 25 to 35 lbs while you're pregnant. This should be translated as gaining 4 lbs every 4 weeks, over the last two trimesters of your pregnancy. If you have a healthy weight before pregnancy, you should gain 3 to 5 pounds during the first trimester and 1 to 2 pounds per week during the second and third trimesters. Your weight gain should follow the following calendar (all figures are in kilograms).

Weeks	Minimum Weight Gain	Maximum Weight Gain	Normal Weight Gain
0	0	0	0
2	0.13	0.18	0.15
4	0.13	0.18	0.15
6	0.13	0.18	0.15
8	0.13	0.18	0.15
10	0.13	0.18	0.15
12	0.64	0.90	0.77
14	0.64	0.90	0.77
16	0.64	0.90	0.77
18	0.64	0.90	0.77
20	0.85	1.20	1.03
22	0.85	1.20	1.03
24	0.85	1.20	1.03
26	0.85	1.20	1.03
28	0.85	1.20	1.03
30	0.64	0.90	0.77
32	0.64	0.90	0.77
34	0.64	0.90	0.77
36	0.64	0.90	0.77
38	0.64	0.90	0.77
40	0.64	0.90	0.77

Underweight Pregnancy Weight Gain
If you are underweight before pregnancy, you should gain 5-6 pounds or more in your first trimester. You should gain 1-2 pounds per week in the second and third trimesters. Your week by week weight gain should progress as follows(all figures are in kilograms).

Weeks	Minimum Weight Gain	Maximum Weight Gain	Normal Weight Gain
0	0	0	0
2	0.14	0.21	0.17
4	0.14	0.21	0.17
6	0.14	0.21	0.17
8	0.14	0.21	0.17
10	0.14	0.21	0.17
12	0.72	1.03	0.87
14	0.72	1.03	0.87
16	0.72	1.03	0.87
18	0.72	1.03	0.87
20	0.96	1.37	1.16
22	0.96	1.37	1.16
24	0.96	1.37	1.16
26	0.96	1.37	1.16
28	0.96	1.37	1.16
30	0.72	1.03	0.87
32	0.72	1.03	0.87
34	0.72	1.03	0.87
36	0.72	1.03	0.87
38	0.72	1.03	0.87
40	0.72	1.03	0.87

Overweight Pregnancy Weight Gain
If you are overweight before pregnancy, you should gain around 1 or 2 pounds during the first trimester and approximately 1 pound per week during the last 6 months. Your graph should progress as follows (all figures in kilograms).

Weeks	Minimum Weight Gain	Maximum Weight Gain	Normal Weight Gain
0	0	0	0
2	0.08	0.13	0.10
4	0.08	0.13	0.10
6	0.08	0.13	0.10
8	0.08	0.13	0.10
10	0.08	0.13	0.10
12	0.39	0.64	0.51
14	0.39	0.64	0.51
16	0.39	0.64	0.51
18	0.39	0.64	0.51
20	0.51	0.85	0.68
22	0.51	0.85	0.68
24	0.51	0.85	0.68
26	0.51	0.85	0.68
28	0.51	0.85	0.68
30	0.39	0.64	0.51
32	0.39	0.64	0.51
34	0.39	0.64	0.51
36	0.39	0.64	0.51
38	0.39	0.64	0.51
40	0.39	0.64	0.51

Obese Pregnancy Weight Gain
If your pre-pregnancy BMI suggests that you are obese, the calculator suggests the following weight gain schedule for you (all figures in kilograms).

Weeks	Minimum Weight Gain	Maximum Weight Gain	Normal Weight Gain
0	0	0	0
2	0.08	0.13	0.10
4	0.08	0.13	0.10
6	0.08	0.13	0.10
8	0.08	0.13	0.10
10	0.08	0.13	0.10
12	0.39	0.64	0.51
14	0.39	0.64	0.51
16	0.39	0.64	0.51
18	0.39	0.64	0.51
20	0.51	0.85	0.68
22	0.51	0.85	0.68
24	0.51	0.85	0.68
26	0.51	0.85	0.68
28	0.51	0.85	0.68
30	0.39	0.64	0.51
32	0.39	0.64	0.51
34	0.39	0.64	0.51
36	0.39	0.64	0.51
38	0.39	0.64	0.51
40	0.39	0.64	0.51

Relax, think of all this as scaling Mount Everest. The climb may be no fun at all, but reaching the top is definitely worth it. Take the weekly schedule seriously, and be sure to follow your weight gain chart. Ensure that you eat for two. Know that your heart has enlarged itself, to reach a capacity to pump blood for both of you (almost 20% more). Know that your uterus grows more than 1000 times its original size, to accommodate your little one. Help your body to deal with all these changes. Eat enough proteins, carbohydrates, and essential vitamins and minerals. Wish you a happy weight gaining and good luck with losing weight later!