theoretical ? about weight gain

[frugalmum]

I have been mulling this over in my head.... if overweight women are advised not to gain weight during pregnancy, and they have healthy babies, why could an average weight woman not do the same with a healthy outcome for baby-- assuming her food intake solely consists of nutrient-dense foods and she receives adequate nutrients, hydration, minerals, protein?

Or what about a 10-15 pound weight gain (allowing for baby's weight, water retention, placenta) with a healthy outcome?

It seems to me that as long as nutrition is adequate this should be safe? Any thoughts?

[Liora]

I am overweight and if someone told me not to gain weight while pregnant I'd think they were misinformed. Gaining weight is healthy during pregnancy for women of any size in my opinion.

I did recently read (in a book about twins but still) that the problem with letting the baby live off of fat stores is it creates ketones that a fetus can't break down. It is best for babies to live off current nutrient intake.

[babyjelly]

Well, I'm a healthy weight woman who does not seem to have gained anything at the halfway point in this pg, and my mw isn't worried.
That said, I don't think this should be any healthy woman's goal. An overweight woman can safely and easily not gain when she replaces crappy food from pre pg with healthy food. But presumably, a healthy weight woman is already eating healthy foods, at least most of the time, so generally speaking, she would be cutting calories to not gain during pg. Obviously not the best choice for mama or baby.
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[MaerynPearl]

I started this pregnancy obese and sure as heck was not told not to gain ANY weight...

I was told to try to keep my weight gain reasonable (like 15 pounds, as I do not need those additional maternal fat stores an average or underweight person needs)

[Jayray]

I can't imagine it would be good for any woman not to gain any weight no matter if they are eating healthy or not. There is a new baby growing in there with its own weight, amniotic fluid, extra blood in your circulatory system, more breast tissue--there are things that are being added to your body that have weight. If you're not gaining any weight, then you're losing it from somewhere else and that doesn't seem good to me.

[ein328]

With my first pregnancy, I lost 15 lbs in my first tri due to HG. Once I got it under control (thanks, Zofran!), I gained that back, and then went on to gain 10 more lbs. Hence, when I delivered my daughter, I was only 10 lbs. above my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm 5'8", about 135-140 when not pregnant, to give you an idea. Once I was able to get my nausea under control, I ate very healthily and exercised- I'm a runner and was able to keep up my running until the day I delivered.

My daughter was born at 38 weeks to the day- 6 lbs 4 oz, absolutely healthy.

So it IS possible to gain very little and still be healthy/deliver a healthy baby.

HOWEVER, I don't think one should TRY to do so intentionally. I weighed less after DD's birth then I did pre-pregnancy, lost even more through breastfeeding, and did not look/feel healthy at all. I think it really took a toll on my body.

[gemasita]

My nurse said the 10-15 lbs (minimum) accounts for the baby and all the fluids, etc. So if you stay the same weight, it's like you LOST 10-15 lbs yourself. I'm sure it's natural for a thinner women to gain some fat stores. So gaining just 10-15 lbs might be going against nature? A larger women doesn't need to add additional fat stores?

[Liora]

Originally Posted by babyjelly

Well, I'm a healthy weight woman who does not seem to have gained anything at the halfway point in this pg, and my mw isn't worried.
That said, I don't think this should be any healthy woman's goal. An overweight woman can safely and easily not gain when she replaces crappy food from pre pg with healthy food. But presumably, a healthy weight woman is already eating healthy foods, at least most of the time, so generally speaking, she would be cutting calories to not gain during pg. Obviously not the best choice for mama or baby.
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This post assumes two things. 1) that overweight women must be replacing crappy food with healthy food and 2) that healthy weight women are already eating healthy foods. I think both of these things are fallacies.

I did LOSE weight with my DD but my MW monitored my calorie intake to make sure it was high enough. If a practitioner told me I *should not* gain weight I would assume he was fat-phobic and had no idea what he was talking about. Overweight people eat healthy too and being pregnant still means they need to add calories for the hard work of building a baby.

I do agree that any size woman should not think about pregnancy as a potential diet.

[Mosaic]

I'm sure you've seen the weight breakdowns before, like this one. Plain and simple, there seems to be no way to grow a new human being and also extra uterine muscle, 50% more blood, increased breast tissue, etc. without gaining weight. Seems like simple mass balance.

[Youngfrankenstein]

I was an obese woman who lost weight during pregnancy. I start at about 190#, I threw up for 20 weeks (as I did with my other 3 pregnancies), "gained back" about 8# through the rest and was 185# at my last weigh in before I gave birth. I had a 10 pound,4 ounce baby girl.

I think if you eat what you can, exercise as you can, the body does what it needs to do.

I feel that although many women don't want to face it, the "free for all" diet of pregnancy is not good albeit hard to resist. American's are getting fatter and fatter and I believe that isn't good for moms and babies.

And remember, weight isn't a great indicator of who is eating "crappy food" and who isn't.

[Mosaic]

Originally Posted by ein328

So it IS possible to gain very little and still be healthy/deliver a healthy baby.

HOWEVER, I don't think one should TRY to do so intentionally. I weighed less after DD's birth then I did pre-pregnancy, lost even more through breastfeeding, and did not look/feel healthy at all. I think it really took a toll on my body.

Me, too. I was a healthy weight pre-pregnancy, but due to m/s and attempts at regular exercise, I gained only 12 lbs total. DD was born at 37w, 6lb11oz, healthy, strong, and adorable!

6 hours after birth, weighed 3 lbs LESS than I did pre-pregnancy.

My body is a wreck. I have no muscle mass, no strength, and can't even stand up straight. I have a long road ahead of me to rebuild my health.

[CherryBomb]

Originally Posted by Liora

This post assumes two things. 1) that overweight women must be replacing crappy food with healthy food and 2) that healthy weight women are already eating healthy foods. I think both of these things are fallacies.

I agree. The idea that fat women must eat crappy food, and "normal" sized women must eat healthy is offensive and wrong. I'm not fat because I eat like crap, I'm fat because I had 3 pregnancies back to back, one of landed me in the hospital and nearly killed me :/ My best friend eats better than anyone I know AND she's very active, and she's a big woman (she's built like a line backer!)

[MaerynPearl]

I eat decent... Not a vegan or anything but I try my hardest to eat right... but I'm obese.

I'm obese because I was put on bedrest during my first pregnancy for 5 months, gained 50 lbs, then developed postpartum thyroiditis after he was born which was quite severe but went undiagnosed for months... then as soon as it was corrected, got pregnant again! And once again, developed postpartum thyroiditis afterwards.

That said... It still would have been bad for me to not gain anything at all this pregnancy.

I did lose 15 pounds at first, because of severe morning sickness and the worst sinus infection i have ever had... but in the end (literally, Im 38 weeks) have only gained 15 lbs... which my midwife is very happy for! I gained a very very healthy amount of weight for my body.

And we know I did it healthily because I didn't TRY to not gain weight or to lose weight... I just tried my hardest to eat right and really...

when it comes down to it...

I think that's all ANY pregnant woman should do.

[thankful85]

My friend was overweight and only gained 5 lbs while pregnant. Her Dr told her that it was fine - she didn't really *need* to gain weight just for the sake of gaining weight. She asked him more about that and from what I understand, he meant that if you are eating well and taking care of yourself then you really don't need to worry if you are gaining or not. Your body will do what it was meant to. Fact is, some women gain a lot and are perfectly healthy. Some just don't gain all that much and they're just fine, too.

[shnitzel]

I was a healthy weight woman who only gained 9 pounds, and had a healthy outcome. I had average morning sickness and wasn't very hungry during pregnancy but pushed myself to eat as much healthy food as possible. I was 123 before pregnancy and delivered at 132 lbs. I brought it up with my Obgyn many times b/c I was worried but she always dismissed it, their office is very obsessed with not gaining too much. My baby was born a healthy 6 lbs 9 oz at a 41 weeks. I went home in prepregnancy clothing. I don't think it is something that should be done deliberately b/c the present weight gain guidelines were designed after looking at how much weight gain gives the healthiest outcome. Even though it was fine I still do plan on trying to gain more next time because it was not worth the worry, and my fundal height was always behind.

[MeepyCat]

It's important to remember that, during pregnancy, the baby will leach nutrients out of your very bones if that's what it has to do. So a no-weight-gain pregnancy can be fine, but it can also have lasting health effects for the mother. It's easier to lose weight than it is to regain bone density.

[mamaki]

As long as you eat healthy foods in the right quantities and exercise some, your body should gain the right amount of weight that it needs to, naturally. I gained about 50lbs with each of my pregnancies which is more than I should have according to the guidelines. However I was healthy and I lost it all (and more) afterwards without trying to (I'm sure breastfeeding helps a lot though!). I really think in most cases your body does what it needs to do as far as weight gain goes. If you have health issues or complications this probably wouldn't apply though.

[Baby~Braatens~Mama]

Originally Posted by Mosaic

I'm sure you've seen the weight breakdowns before, like this one. Plain and simple, there seems to be no way to grow a new human being and also extra uterine muscle, 50% more blood, increased breast tissue, etc. without gaining weight. Seems like simple mass balance.

This! I really don't think it is healthy to not gain any weight during pregnancy, especially if you are of "normal" or are "underweight."

[spargel]

I'm at 21 weeks and I'm only up 2 pounds. My goal is gain only 10-15 lbs throughout the pregnancy. (I started out heavy). When I talked to my OB, I explained how and what I was eating (I'm probably eating like a normal person now, rather than overeating) - she agreed that it sounded very healthy and told me that the baby will take what it needs first and I'll get what's leftover or have to burn fat to get what I need.

For a person that's underweight or normal weight, they won't have that extra body weight to burn so it doesn't sound very healthy - meaning that you are shortchanging your own nutrition which is not good in the long or short run.

If you read this month's fit pregnancy, there was an interesting article in there about how much weight is truly safe to gain in order to prevent long term ramifications to your health (chronic hypertension and type II diabetes).

[lifeguard]

Please count me in the camp of offended that overweight automatically are eating poorly & "normal" weight women are obviously already eating well. It just. does. not. work like that.