Gaining Weight During Pregnancy – How Much is Enough?

When women fall pregnant, many of them become concerned about the weight they gain and how they will actually lose it after they have their baby.  All too often, women are worried about gaining more or less weight than the average 25-30 pounds, that is recommended in most pregnancy text books.

But an Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee of doctors, nutrition experts, and public health researchers have issued a new set of guidelines for healthy weight gain by pregnant mothers. These guidelines pertain to women of all shapes and  sizes as they are based on the individual’s body mass  rather than on her gross weight.

Here are the guidelines for pregnancy weight gain, based on a woman’s BMI ( body mass index) before becoming pregnant with one baby:

• Underweight: Gain 28-40 pounds
• Normal weight: Gain 25-35 pounds
• Overweight: Gain 15-25 pounds
• Obese: Gain 11-20 pounds

And here are the guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy with twins, based on the mother’s prepregnancy BMI:

• Normal weight: Gain 37-54 pounds
• Overweight: Gain 31-50 pounds
• Obese: Gain 25-42 pounds
• Underweight: No weight gain guidelines are available because of insufficient data.

The new guidelines suggest that in order to achieve healthy weight gain, a pregnant mother needs to be mindful of her diet, exercise and genetic history. The IOM recommend that women do not try to do this all on their own.

“For women to achieve these goals, they are going to need individualized attention before, during, and after pregnancy,” with support from their doctors, families, and communities, says IOM committee chairwoman Kathleen Rasmussen, ScD, PhD.