Be careful not to go back! Weight gain during pregnancy should be less than 16 kg

Many people believe that women should "eat for two" when they are pregnant. However, if you fall into this myth and eat and supplement as much as you can, you may gain too much weight during pregnancy, and after "delivering" the baby, you may find that you can't lose the weight at all. Australian scholars have written an article stating that for women with normal weight before pregnancy, the best weight gain during pregnancy should be between 11.3 and 15.9 kg. In addition, nutritional intake should focus on quality rather than quantity to avoid excessive weight gain and inability to lose weight after delivery.

Australian scholars have written an article stating that for women with normal weight before pregnancy, the best weight gain during pregnancy is between 11.3 and 15.9 kilograms to avoid excessive weight gain and inability to lose weight after delivery.

Regina Belski, a senior lecturer in human nutrition at La Trobe University in Australia, wrote on the website of The Conversation, an independent Australian academic institution, that women with different body mass index (BMI) values ​​should gain different amounts of weight during pregnancy. Weight gain during pregnancy is also a science. If you gain too much weight, not only will you become obese, you should also be careful about gestational diabetes. If you gain too little weight, you should also pay attention to whether you are not getting enough nutrients.

[BMI value for weight gain during pregnancy]

Underweight before pregnancy: After dividing the pre-pregnancy weight in kilograms by the square of the height in meters, women with a BMI value below 18.5 should gain approximately 12.7 to 18.1 kilograms during pregnancy.

Normal weight before pregnancy: Women whose BMI before pregnancy is between 18.5 and 24.9 should gain 11.3 to 15.9 kg during pregnancy.

Overweight before pregnancy: Women whose BMI before pregnancy is between 25 and 29.9 should gain 6.8 to 11.3 kg during pregnancy.

Pre-pregnancy obesity: Women with a pre-pregnancy BMI of 30 or above should gain 5 to 9 kilograms during pregnancy.

In addition, expectant mothers who are pregnant with twins or triplets should gain more weight during pregnancy. For people with normal weight, they should gain about 16.8 to 24.5 kg.

If you gain more than 20 to 25 kilograms during pregnancy, most of the weight will be stored as fat, making it much more difficult to lose weight after delivery. In addition to obesity, you should also be careful about gestational diabetes and other complications.

[Breastfeeding after childbirth helps you lose weight quickly]

Regina Beski pointed out that although these weight numbers sound like a lot, in fact, the weight gained during pregnancy is distributed to the baby and other parts of the mother's body, including tissues and fluids. The baby in the belly only accounts for 1/3 of the increased weight, and the rest includes 2 kg of blood, 1.5 kg of breast tissue, 0.5 kg of placenta, and 1 kg of amniotic fluid. However, as long as it is properly controlled, most of the weight can be lost quickly after delivery.

After deducting the above parts, the excess fat left after delivery is only about 2.5 to 3.5 kilograms; if you breastfeed, this weight can be lost quickly because secreting milk and breastfeeding require a lot of physical strength.

[Pay attention to excessive or insufficient weight gain during pregnancy]

Regina Beski reminds that if you gain more than 20 to 25 kilograms during pregnancy, most of it will be stored as fat, and it will be much more difficult to lose weight after giving birth. In addition to obesity, you should also be careful about gestational diabetes and other complications. However, there are risks if you do not gain any weight during pregnancy, or gain too little weight. Pregnant women must pay attention to their intake of various nutrients, especially folic acid, iodine and iron.