Weight Gain and Baby's Size Correlation?

[Gracecody]

So...just wanted to get your opinion on this one.

My midwife feels strongly that the mama's weight gain is linked to the baby's size. In my first pregnancy, I gained 50 lbs and had a 10 lb baby. I am not sure if he was big because I gained a lot of weight, or if I gained a lot of weight because he was big. Know what I mean??? She says sugar and carbs help to grow a bigger baby too and is advising I eat a lot of whole foods and good protein sources. Not bread and jam, which is ALL I want it seems!

The whole impetus here is to try to have a smaller baby and thus an easier labor. I also worry about setting the baby up for obesity by having them start out chubby. I just don't know how much influence I have over that. ds is 2 now and not chubby, but only because he gets a ton of exercise and eats extremely healthfully. I know that he will be the type to gain weight easily if he doesn't take care of himself later.

I had a fast but incredibly painful and intense labor due to ds's size and poor positioning, not to mention poor coaching. He came out facing sideways and I had horrible, horrible tearing and a very tough recovery. I just want it to be easier if possible this time.

My weight gain was great til about 20 weeks this time and now I am fighting my appetite all day, every day. I am eating plenty but just seem to want to be stuffed full all the time. It is kind of a bizarre thing. I am beaing myself up constantly over it though and stressing over the weight gain. I have now gained about 17 lbs I think at nearly 24 weeks. Which I think is fine, it's just that I gained 9 lbs last month alone and am afraid I'm going to continue on this way if I don't get a voice of reason to back up my midwife's very good voice of reason (which I only hear once a month).

[operamommy]

I can only give you my personal experience. I gained around 30 lbs. with each of my 3 children. They weighed:
7lb 5 oz
7lb 3 oz
8lb 4 oz

I'm sorry you had such a rough birthing experience. My labors are super-fast, and everyone thinks that's great, but I hate it. I go from being comfortable to being in wanting to scream pain in a matter of minutes, and it's very overwhelming to have everything happen that fast - so I definately know what you mean about fast but very painful labor!

I know one thing that will make it easier is to have better coaching (since you mentioned it was poor last time). There are lots of mamas on this site who've given birth to big babies without tearing, so I'm sure you can find tons of advice on what to do to make this labor/delivery easier.

[CaraboosMama]

I gained more with my dd who was 6 lbs 12 oz. than I did with my ds who was 7 lbs 14 oz. but...I was underweight when I became pregnant with dd and I had just quit smoking. So...I think there are a lot of variables to the whole weight gain-baby size puzzle.

[Dea]

Is your midwife referring to dibetes? Because that can lead to a large baby too.
But I don't understand how it would work, if a mother gains too much weight resulting in a chubby baby.
Unfortunately this is my first so I can't compare within my own children... however, my mom gained about 12 lbs with me and I was 5lbs 2 oz, she was overweight to start with, anyhow I was a low birth weight and 3 weeks late according to the doctors then. Now I am also overweight. I attribute it to bad choices, not my birth weight. My brother was 5 lbs 8 oz, my mom gained more, but still wasn't eating healthy, he was 2 weeks early and a very sickly baby. He's perfectly average weight now.
My husband was also under 6 lbs, 5lbs 6 oz and is normal now too.
My niece was 6lbs 2 oz, her mom gained 45lbs and she's a healthy normal weighted 3 year old.
My little cousin was about 7 lbs and her mom was plus sized and now she's 10 and well over 150lbs (her parents have no clue how a child needs to eat)
Anyhow all of this rambling is me saying that I believe weight as an adult and as a child is more related to how you eat and how active you are. Like you said your child was a big baby but average now.
Finally I am about 1 lb over my pre pregnancy weight, and my baby has been closely monitored and gaged to be normal in all aspects. (and she has the most adorable profile!)
I think all in all if you are eating a healthy balanced diet and are sensible about exercise you'll be fine.

Finally I know this is my first and I shouldn't say anything but I really believe that moderation is the key.

[mama_nym]

Different care providers have different hypotheses as to what weight gain or what you eat has to do with growing big babies. Some believe sugar and carbs make big babies...some believe lots of protein makes big babies. Some think high weight gain makes big babies. I don't think anything has been scientifically proven.

I gained the most with my first (and ate tons of sugar/carbs, as that's what I craved) and he was 7lbs 2oz. I gained the least with my fourth (I lost weight, then gained it back - don't think I gained much beyond gaining back what I lost) and he was 10lbs 14oz. (No, no gestational diabetes!)
My other 2 kids were 8lbs2oz and 9.5 lbs.

As far as birthing "bigger" and malpositioned babies - most of it has to do with the position you labor and birth in. My 8lbs 4 oz dd was facing sideways and I did lots of position changing while pushing (in a birth tub!) and had minimal tearing and a very healthy baby. My 10lbs 14oz babe was born at home after about 7 minutes of my body pushing, no pain, only tiny surface tears...I pushed his body out while on my hands and knees and it was soooo easy. I was blessed to have worked with wonderful midwives who were very knowledgeable about birthing positions and what positions would work best in those situations. Also - knowing that my dd was along my side, my mw encouraged me to labor on hands and knees or standing leaning forward as much as possible - her body turned most of the way and her head only part way, but enough so it wasn't too difficult to get her to turn just a bit more to help her malpositioned self past my pubic bone while I was pushing.

Not having adequate coaching and having such a painful delivery and recovery must have been difficult, to say the least! I hope your experience is much more tranquil this time around!

[Gracecody]

Thanks for all the replies, I think I am starting to find the right path here. Which is of course the path of moderation.

My first birth was a natural birth in the hospital with a CNM who was very *experienced* but not *knowledgeable* about birthing positions as she had attended very few natural births, even though she was a CNM. She told me at one point that 90+% of her patients planned on having an epidural and I was really surprised at that.

The toughest part of recovery was being in so much pain sitting up and the shock of how HEAVY my "wee" babe was from the very start! I had the sorest arms from holding him, I really had to build up the muscles!!

So anyway, this time I have a wonderful midwife, a homebirth midwife who has attended more than 350 births and had LOTS to say about what might have worked better for me in my first birth. That is a big part of the reason I decided to go with her in the first place. A friend who recommended her to me told me that she coached her to wait a full 30 min after full dilation to start pushing so her baby would turn (and she did indeed turn) and during that time, she held her hand and sang to her about women being strong in birth. That's the kind of coaching I'm looking for this time around and I feel that yes, it will make a huge difference. I probably wouldn't have settled on a homebirth this time if I wasn't able to find a midwife I really trusted and wanted to learn from.

I'd love to hear more about your experiences w/weight gain and baby size, I think it's really fascinating. In my pregnancy with ds I craved bacon cheeseburgers and poor dh was out grilling constantly. This time it's my homemade wheat bread with my homemade peach jam and I already found out that this is a little girl so I knew there would be differences.

[Angierae]

With my first I gained 70 lbs, and had a 9lb 10 oz babe. She was born at 41.5 weeks. With my 2nd I gained 40 and had a 8lb 8 oz babe who was 4 days early.
So far this time I've gained 17 lbs.

My first delivery was definitely worse, but she was in a bad position. I'm not sure my weight/diet made any difference on baby's size. My first has continued to be a very tall child and my 2nd is much more petite. I think they were how big they needed to be.

FWIW my midwife also recommend staying away from the refined sugars/carbs. I'm on board with that only b/c I was so much for comfortable with my 2nd pregnancy, and was able to be more mobile during labor.

[PlayaMama]

i gained 35 lbs with my first and he weighed 8 lbs 4 oz.

my friend gained barely 20 pounds and her baby was between 6 and 7 pounds.

my mom gained around 25 with each of us and we were both in the low 7 pounds.

this time around i've lost about 12 and gained about 16. now that i'm finally gaining, i'm trying to eat really healthy and keep it under control. feeling really full makes me puke just as much as feeling really empty.

personally, i think that weight gain does correlate with baby size. though i think it depends on where you start too. i was about ten pounds over where i think i should be (140 at 5'5") and i think i had ten pounds to lose for monring sickness. i did notice that with my son i dropped the weight amazingly fast after he was born (yay breastfeeding!!).

i've really been hungry for salads lately. salads with nuts and cheese, whatever that means?!? but i never really want sweets when i'm pregnant anyway.

[LoveChild421]

I think that when you're pregnant it is especially important to eat a high quality diet. If you eat a high quality diet, you'll gain the right amount of weight for you and your baby without needing to watch the scale.

Whenever I am thinking about what I'm going to eat for a meal, I think "is the main component of this meal protein? Is it free of refined carbs or at least have as little refined carbs as possible? Am I maximizing my vitamin/mineral intake with what I eat?" When you think in terms of making sure you make the most of your meals its easier to maintain a healthy weight without even trying. I haven't gained any weight so far, but the baby is measuring right on target. I am very active, but I also am very aware of what I eat and how it will affect my body. Sure, its fine to have a treat every once in a while (I just had a yummy chai latte yesterday to treat myself), but white flour and refined sugars should be very limited. It's hard to do at first, but now I honestly don't crave them. I'm craving steak with green peppers and onions right now....mmmm....

So anyway, I can't answer your question, but I say listen to your body, eat when you're hungry stop when you're full, if you make sure you're eating healthy things then you won't have a problem and you'll know the baby is just the size its meant to be.

I gained 40 pounds with my son (although I was underweight when I got pregnant) he was 7 lbs 8 oz at 38 1/2 weeks.

[eilonwy]

BeanBean: Net gain of 10 pounds; he weighed 7 lbs 8 oz at 37 weeks.
BooBah: Net gain of 10-15 pounds; she weighed 6 lbs 13 oz at 39 weeks.
Bella: Net gain of -5 pounds; she weighed 6 lbs 1 oz at 36 weeks.

My sister had three children: With #1, she gained about 45 pounds-- baby weighed 7 lbs, 6 oz on her due date. #2, net gain of 10 pounds, baby weighed 8 lbs 6 oz at 43 weeks. I'm not positive, but I think that with #3 she had a net gain of about 15 pounds and the baby was 7 lbs 4 oz at 38(?) weeks.

My mother had a net gain of -15 pounds with my youngest sister, who weighed 8 lbs 15 oz on her due date.

In other words, I think that there is a correlation, but it has more to do with the mother's health and nutrition than with her weight gain. Healthier women have bigger, stronger babies, and (in general) they tend to carry longer. You DO NOT want to compromise your nutritional status in hopes of having a smaller baby-- in your position, I'd concentrate on getting in good physical shape for labor & delivery. Then again, I'm intensely jealous of people who have big, round, 8 lb babies, and in awe of women who have 10 pounders. One of my greatest fears about this baby is that he'll be true to the pattern established by his siblings and only be 5 lbs 4 oz...

[Teenytoona]

I can't post of my own experience, but here's what I've seen. My sister has 3 kids, with all 3 she gained about 40 lbs (she's usually the one who never gains weight of the 4 gals in the fam). Her babies were 9lbs, 9 lbs 4 oz, and 9 lbs 7 oz. Now, she was a rolly-polly baby, and so were all hers, obviously. So tht bit I've seen makes me wonder about the weight gain/baby size.

But I would so not worry about setting the baby up for obesity. Every baby I've seen who's a rolly-polly pudge squishorama babe, has grown up to be rather slender. My aforementioned sister was one. Her first child, is very thin, the other two are still a little young yet. My first dsd (she's nearly 17 now)was a pudge-o-babe, and she's slender too. It's almost as if pudgey babes end up with the higher metabolisms. (No evidence for that, just observational guesses here). Me on the other hand, I was born 6lb 11 oz, and here I am all 260+ lbs... So hey, maybe a pudgy babe means thin adult? I don't know the stats of my remaining 6 siblings, besides my youngest bro who was born 2 months early, he was 5 lbs 4 oz, and now he's 6'4 and 350...

IN short, I wouldn't worry about prepping your child for obesity. Just do what you can to eat healthy, and you should be ok. (Besides eating Jam has got to be better than eating ice cream and chocolate chips!!!)

[anj7]

Just adding my stats:
DD1 - gained 50 lbs, she was 8 lbs 14 oz
DD2 - gained 25 lbs, she was 9 lbs

With both pg's, my weight at birth was close to the same (I didn't lose 25 lbs from pg #1 before becoming pg with #2).

[Gracecody]

Thanks again for all the thoughts; I am finding this all really interesting. I think (besides the jam) I do make good choices but quantity/portion size seems to be the issue. it is so tough to stop when I'm approaching feeling full. I have started having a little bit of an apple when I crave something sweet and it kills the sweet craving. The apples are so yummy right now. I have enlisted dh's help to get me to move along, away from my plate, and so far it's really helping. Also making sure I get a walk 3-4x/week will help too. We've started takinga family walk when I get home from work so we just need to make that a regular thing. With 2 labs who also need a walk, it's really a no brainer. anyway, I love hearing about your babes. I never expected to have a 10 lb'er myself as dh and I were 6.5 and 7.5 lbs, respectively. BUT my mom only gained 10 lbs and didn't take care of herself; she ended up with preeclampsia so my suspicion is that I might have been a bigger babe. dh's mom smoked throughout her pregnancy with him. So you're right, the correlations are not that straight-forward and easy to determine.

[jlc3333]

I don't think there is any logic or truth to weight gain and bigger babies, as with all pg's every woman and pg and therefore every baby is different, but I do have some advice as far as controlling weight gain...as this has helped me gain a 7lb total @ 23weeks, with my other two babes I gained 50-60lbs.
Chocolate sauce (fat free) and skim milk... a big glass and guzzle it right down, not only does it fill you up, it helps with the sweet tooth. Maybe it might work for you too... But beware of Vanilla sauces, they tend to have phosphates in them... Good luck to you!!!!

[ksera05]

Ok, I know I'm not a good sample, but I gained 15lbs with my first daughter from conception to 24 weeks (all I could hold down for the first 12 weeks or so was fast food! ) and she weighed 1lb4oz which was small even for a 24 weeker.

Soooo...take that as you will, but I don't know that it's a 100% hard and fast rule. lol

[ScarletBegonias]

i concur with the above posts: so many factors are involved in determining baby's size.

-mother's health before and at the time of conception
-how the mother cares for herself during pg
-genetics
-eating habits of the mother
-smoking/drug use
-depression
-use of medication

i gained 30 lbs exactly with dd and she weighed 6 lbs 6 oz. i ate very well, was in great health before i conceived, i weighed 6 lbs 8 oz at birth, dh weighed 6 lbs 9 oz at birth. i did have some depression and there was one other factor during pg that i won't talk about here that could effect dd's weight. (pm me for more info) overall, i really think there's no way to tell. instinct and my own birth weight i think are the best indicators for me. for you, they may be different.

[Steady101]

Ds weighed 5'10 on his due date. I had severe hypermesis with him. SO far I am still -19 with this bean.

[flapjack]

OK. DS1 I had hyperemesis, lost 2 stone from January 1st 1998 to Nov 24th (his birthdate) and spent some time on a drip. This is the child that weighed in at 14lb 2oz at birth, and 24 inches long. At 8 years old, he's 90th centile for height, 35th for weight.
DS2 my weight remained constant, although I got HUGE- again, extreme nausea. I was literally measuring 60" around at full term. 8lb 13oz. This is the child who had mild shoulder dystocia. He's now on the 25th centile for weight, 10th for height.
DD, I gained a stone and a half, so about 20lbs, and she weighed 8lb 5oz. At that point I was eating a non-vegetarian balanced diet. No difference in the births.

I have to say, I feel that the advice being given here is potentially dangerous. Other than the existence of gestational diabetes, I am not aware of any evidence that provides a direct link between maternal diet and birthweight, and I would be fascinated to be provided with links or references to peer-reviewed studies on the subject. Ditto maternal weight gain: I know that enough studies have shown that no link exists between weight gain and birth weight that most countries (and many practitioners within the US) no longer bother weighing their pregnant patients. On the other hand, if for YOUR health and YOUR healthful body image, you feel the need to restrict your weight gain, then go for it. We're here for you and we'll help you.
I'd strongly suggest, though, that there are questions that you need to ask your midwife: one of which is "what happens if you suspect I'm having another 10lb baby?" Another, which is ringing alarm bells in my ear, is that your body is telling you to eat carbs and she is telling you not to listen to your body, but to follow her advice instead. She cannot know what your body is feeling, particularly not during labour. You need to listen to your own inner voices.

[LoveChild421]

Originally Posted by flapjack

Another, which is ringing alarm bells in my ear, is that your body is telling you to eat carbs and she is telling you not to listen to your body, but to follow her advice instead. She cannot know what your body is feeling, particularly not during labour. You need to listen to your own inner voices.

I agree very strongly with listening to your intuition and your body, but with carbs the tricky thing is that refined carbs aren't natural and when you crave them its usually because we have become accustomed to them and have yeast growing in our bodies. Yeast will make you crave carbs like an alcoholic craves alcohol. Yeast feeds on sugar so it makes sense that your body would start craving it. If you cut refined carbs- sugar and white flour- out of your diet you'll notice you don't crave them. Now, if my body is craving brown rice or fruit I'm all for listening.

[True Blue]

I think babies grow as big as they need to, and if you have a decent diet you're ok. Gosh, I sugar crave big time but I gained 40lbs with both pregnancies and the babies were 8-2 and 8-8....this time I'm on the same track but since babies tend to be bigger...I'm expecting a nine pounder.