How much weight should a pregnant woman gain during her pregnancy

How Much Weight Should Women Gain During Pregnancy?

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/guide.asp?s=rss&a=100759&k=eMedicineHealth

Those new guidelines were issued today by an Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee of doctors, nutrition experts, and public health researchers. It’s the first time the IOM has issued pregnancy weight guidelines since 1990, and in the past …

Related Questions Answered on Y!Answers

Did any of you normal-weight women gain less than twenty pounds during your pregnancy or pregnancies?

Q: I live in Finland but lived in the United States a long time ago for many years. In America, prenatal doctors seem to put the highest standard on how much weight a woman gains during her pregnancy, so much that it makes me sick. Why is it that America seems to have the highest recommended weight gain for pregnancy than any other country in the world? Pretty much every American prenatal doctor would tell a patient of normal weight prior to pregnancy to gain at least twenty-five pounds by her ninth month, and swears up and down that all sorts of bad things will happen to the baby if she doesn’t gain at least that much. However, in Scandinavia, nearly every prenatal specialist I’ve ever talked to assures me that it’s perfectly fine and acceptable for a woman of normal, or even slightly underweight, BMI before pregnancy to gain only about fifteen pounds by the ninth month, or even less, and that no women should ever gain more than thirty pounds, especially when carrying only one baby. So, but I was just wondering, is there anyone out there, who was of normal weight before pregnancy, to gain no more than twenty pounds throughout her pregnancy? Why do American doctors usually recommend such a high weight gain in pregnant women? Finland also seems to have a far lower rate of overweight mothers and gestational diabetes than the United States does, from what I understand, and every doctor I’ve ever talked to tells me that it must be mostly because the majority of Scandinavian women don’t gain over about twenty-five pounds during their pregnancies, and sometimes even only eight to ten pounds before the baby is carried to term and born, and yet the babies are all of a perfectly acceptable birth weight. In the States, it seems like all the doctors want their patients to gain a lot of weight mostly because they feel as though the baby won’t be big enough, or something, and in Scandinavia most doctors claim that if you gain less weight (but don’t starve yourself, just exercise and try to stay healthy in other ways) the baby absorbs nutrients better. What do any of you think about this?Note: I don’t want to sound mean, but please, no thoughtless or illiterate people need to make any comments, rude remarks or answers to this question. I don’t want anyone to tell me that I’m generalizing in this kind of thing, either, because I’m just not. I’m just wondering if anyone out there has gained no more than twenty pounds throughout her pregnancy, and has seemed to see her baby and her own body benefit from it.I also simply don’t want to hear anyone say that women who gain less than twenty-five or thirty pounds during pregnancy are selfish and/or vain. That doesn’t have to be true, and oftentimes I don’t think it is. Every pregnant woman’s main goal is to have a healthy baby, but I believe that it’s of equal importance for the mother to stay as healthy and fit herself as possible before giving birth and after.

A: Hi, I am not sure about why there are those different standards for pregnancy weight gain between countries.But I think weight gain during pregnancy has been figured out from averages and considering the biological and physical changes in the woman’s body and growth of baby.Personally, I had three children. I gained only 6 kilos with the first one, 8 kilos with the second and 6 with the third.Yes I agree with what you said in the end there. For example, I got a lot of lip from my mother in law saying nonsense to me about not “feeding the baby”. I was eating healthy and enough for my baby and he was growing fine. I was NOT over eating thus I didn’t gain too much weight. I took my prenatal vitamins and had a happy pregnancy. But it seemed like people looked at me like I was doing a crime by not looking so huge with my pregnancies!!

I’m 9 weeks pregnant i dont have a doctor and i just have a couple questions..?

Q: well im 19 and i dont have a doctor to talk to or anything but i filed for medicaid so i should be able to go to the doctors soon enough but in the meantime i just have a couple questions about my pregnancy so far and hope that someone out there can help..first of all, i havent had morning sickness the entire time the only time i threw up was when i tried taking the prenatals so i just take the flinstones complete everyday instead and ive stocked up on the plain cheerios cereal that has 50% folic acid per serving and i just snack on handfuls throughout the day but besides that the closest thing that ive had to morning sickness was throwing up in my mouth a little at about 5-6wks preg and ive had slight nausea almost everyday starting at week 2 and ive read a few women say that they didnt have morning sickness and had a miscarriage and some that didnt have morning sickness and were fine.. and i guess i just need that reasssurance that my baby is okay and then besides not really having morning sickness im not constipated either, prior to pregnancy i was regular and now im just super regular i go probably 1 to 2 or 3 times more than i used to everyday and i think that this causes me to be more hungry than i would be if i was constipated i usually wake up about 2-3 hours after i fall asleep and be starving!! even though i just ate right before i went to sleep! and like today after i scarfed down a huge! plate beef rice and black beans i was hungry about 30mins later..i have also gained a lot of weight im kinda chubby a bit over average weight ive gained about 12-15lbs and im only 9 weeks i dont get it even though im eating a lot (probably 90-95% of what i eat daily is really healthy foods) i also go to the bathroom a lot and i excercise daily so how am i gaining all this weight? but honestly it doesnt even look like ive gained weight maybe the scale is busted or the weight i gained was scattered legs/belly/butt, and im only 5ft tall, does being short have anything to do with the way you gain weight during pregnancy? ughh this is getting long..so to speed things up..i was also wondering if feeling a sort of warm feeling in your body and belly is normal? and is some kind of slow light ballet sort of dancing with no jumping a good excercise while pregnant? i did some ballet when i was little and idk i just like it..and what are some foods i can eat to feel full longer while pregnant? cuz everything i try doesnt seem to work im hungry alll of the time!! sorry about the length i just really want to try to have the healthiest pregnancy i can, even though i havent met him or her yet i love my baby soo much..when i tried taking the prenatal at night i woke up a few hours later and threw up..i tried taking them at different times of the day and all 3 times i threw upwell im not taking up dancing now, ever since i was 2 ive been a singing dancing fool so my mom says lol

A: Firstly, CONGRATS!!!Dont stress out aout not getting morning sickness, it just means our one of the lucky ones! My advice to you is while your waiting to see a doctor take it as easy as possible, dont stress cause that is the worst thing for your baby! just relax and you and your baby will be fine! You sound like your doing a wonderful job! Eat plenty of greens (ie lettuce,spinach) this will increase your metabolism and help you to digest the food quickly so the fatty parts are expelled. Drink plenty of water too. Its fine that your gaining weight your pregnant your allowed to! And as for all the eating. Pregnant womens appetites increase dramatically you have nothing to worry bout just make sure you dont go overboard and when you feel hungry snack on healthy things not junk food. Do things like bits of fruit etc. try stearing clear of foods with cahbohydrates unless it meal times. Those are the foods that will make you gain weight. But keep in mind its what your supposed to be doing right now.Avoid anything that could harm your baby like cigarettes (even people smoking around you), heavy lifting, alcohol, etc. i know your probably like derr i no these things but im just giving you al the advice i have!Excercise is fine but I’ve been told its bad to take up excercise while pregnant, just stick to routines your used to and it could be very beneficial for you and the baby.I know how it feels to love your baby straight away! It sounds like you’ll be a wonderful mother so just take care of yourself and thigs will fall into place. GOOD LUCK and heres hoping to a happy, healthy, problem free 9 months!

How do these first couple pages of my book sound?

Q: I know I should ask for advice every few pages that I finish writing, but I am very OCD in that way. I would be very happy if you told me how I am doing. But no rude comments either. I want to tell you some back story of what’s going to happen. Actually, the only thing you need to know is that her teacher got her preggers. So enjoy =] (It’s kind of long) ALSO!! PLease correct my grammar and spelling for me. Sometimes my Computer makes mistakes and it doesn’t correct the things that need to be corrected. ALSO ALSO, Answers doesn’t show when things are italicized , so use your imagination when you think it is the right time to make something italicazination….. If you get what I’m saying….(Now here’s the real story, ENJOY!)ONEWell, it wasn’t the Flu. That’s for sure.“Pregnant!” Kiwi screamed at the top to her lungs. “I can’t possibly be pregnant! Run the test again!” She ordered Doctor Dolland. But she was at least one hundred percent sure he was right. She felt woozy and light headed. Not to mention that she felt like her stomach was going to burst, like she’d consumed a whole Thanks Giving dinner on her own. But the thing was she felt that way twenty-four/seven. And another thing, what Flu lasts for four whole months?1)Gaining weight, check2)Flu-like symptoms excluding a high fever, check3)Mood swings that have your family wanting to kill you slowly and painfully, double checkYep. She was. There was no doubt in her mind.But that didn’t stop her from wanting the doctor to redo the test.“Well, Ms. Greene, it looks like you are about six months pregnant.” The Doctor informed her. “I’d say you started actually feeling pregnant when you were two months along. Congratulations!” He threw his hands up like this was some holy chant. But she was feeling anything but holy. This was definitely the work of Satan.“But… but this doesn’t make sense.” Kiwi stared at the wall, but she really wasn’t staring at anything. She was thinking. Okay, so she threw up a few times and she was getting fat and she was… Oh god! She really was pregnant! She was going to lose her lunch. Oh, well, that’s normal. But she did feel like she was going to pass out or run away or kill someone, maybe all three.Then she blurted out “I need a Scotch!” before she even thought. “Oh man! I can’t even drink anymore can I?!?” She crossed her eyes and dipped her head back in frustration.“Uh, I wouldn’t advise you have any alcoholic beverages… But excessive alcohol use during pregnancy is a leading cause of mental retardation. Some babies may also develop fetal alcohol syndrome. It is not clear how much, if any, alcohol is safe during pregnancy, therefore it is wise for pregnant women to avoid drinking any alcohol.”“Thank you Doctor Genius.” She said sarcastically “You know, you could have just said no.” Kiwi laid her head back to relax. Lately she had stiffness in her neck and couldn’t bend it at all. Her eyes busted open when his ice-cold stethoscope affixed to her bulging belly. She let out a quick gasp as the metal warmed up to her. The gauzy thin gown did not leave anything to the imagination, let alone keep you warm. She knew they were a one-use thing but she was silently writing a speech in her head as to why they should make them not pneumonia inducing.Doctor Dolland interrupted her speech with “You know I can check the baby’s sex if you want me to. You are six months along.” Her mouth and eyes were both wide with surprise.“Oh!” Kiwi’s face was now replaced with a smile. “I would love that!” A bouncing baby boy or even a gleeful giggling girl!!! How exciting! “Alright Doc. Lay that ultrasound on me.” Then she let out a string of hysterical laughs. “You know, it is odd, that this thing I knew nothing about, and was potentially killing it with my alcohol consumption, now I am going to know if it’s a boy or girl and I’m going to name it and I’m going to have a life with it!! It’s making me kind of giddy. Ha!” Kiwi thought she was going to lose it and giggle herself to death.“Now, now Ms. Klyde, calm down.” He lifted the dainty gown off of her abdomen and smeared the aquamarine colored jelly over her skin. The first mechanical device that he place on her was something that looked like the scanner at the grocery store. Kiwi did not have any children; she was still in high school. But as she watched the doctor do crazy things to her stomach, she felt an overwhelming sense of Déjà Vu. And then she heard the watery but rhythmic sound of a heartbeat from deep inside her.“This doohickey is called a Doppler.” He enlightened her. “And this peculiar sound you hear is your cute little baby’s heartbeat.” He moved the Doppler around and made a few mental notes to himself. “Hmm. It looks like your little bundle of joy is perfectly healthy. Now let’s get that get that Appendix out!” He had a scalpel in one and a fork in the other. Kiwi wondered where the heck he got that fork, because she didn’t thin

A: You do know ‘Thanksgiving’ is one word?I mean, it’s a holiday…Oh, I don’t think ‘flu’ should be capitalized either…I didn’t read the whole story, only the first few lines.I think your story got cut off?