How much weight should a pregnant woman gain? Pregnancy: weight gain per week. Norm of weight gain during pregnancy by week. Rate of weight gain by the expectant mother

Many pregnant women experience stress before their next appointment with the gynecologist, because the doctor will again “scold” them for the extra pounds they have gained. Is it really that bad?

Normal weight gain during pregnancy

By the end of pregnancy, a woman’s weight will change by an average of 10-16 kg with a plus sign. This occurs due to a gradual increase:

• own body weight;
• child's weight;
• amount of amniotic fluid.

Own body weight. During pregnancy, a woman's blood and lymph volume increases, fluid accumulates in the tissues, the mammary glands swell, and the size of the uterus and fetal membranes increases. In addition, the pregnant woman’s body makes a “fat reserve,” thereby providing the woman with the strength to feed the child in the future, since the fat layer is calories, and therefore energy.

Table 1 - Components of a woman’s own weight by the middle and end of pregnancy

Child's weight During pregnancy, it grows unevenly: in the first trimester, all organs are formed, and from the second, their further development and weight gain occur. Therefore, until the 14th week, the weight of the fetus is not noticeable and the weight gain of the expectant mother is small, amounting to about 2 kg.

The amount of amniotic fluid. The volume of amniotic fluid gradually increases, and by the end of pregnancy it is about 1 liter. Before birth, the amount of amniotic fluid is often reduced to 800 ml.

Summing up all the components of a pregnant woman’s weight, we get the following rate of increase:

• in the first trimester an average of 2 kg of the initial weight;
• in the second trimester approximately another + 4 kg;

The total increase will be equal to 6 kilograms from the initial weight.

• in the third trimester somewhere else + 4 kg.

In total, the weight gain will be about 10 kg over the entire pregnancy period.

Doctors, for greater accuracy, when determining optimal weight gain during pregnancy:

1) determine the woman’s weight group - underweight, normal or overweight;

To do this, they use a formula developed by a Belgian scientist to find the so-called body mass index (BMI).

Body mass index = weight (in kilograms) / height (in meters) 2

For example, a woman’s weight before pregnancy is 60 kg, and her height is 168 cm (or 1.68 m). Then BMI = 60/(1.68∙1.68) = 60/2.8224 = 21.2585 ≈ 21.3.

According to the table compiled by the World Health Organization, the calculated BMI is the norm (see table 2).

Table 2 - Interpretation of BMI indicators according to WHO

2) compare the result obtained with the duration of pregnancy, and accordingly find out the rate of weight gain during pregnancy;

3) analyze whether the existing weight gain corresponds to the norm or not.

Table 3 - Norm of weight gain during pregnancy by week

Remember that weight gain during pregnancy is often an individual matter. Someone can eat for seven, but the weight gain will be slow, lagging behind the norm, but the child will be born large and healthy.
For some, on the contrary, their appetite may decrease, and weight gain will still occur at an accelerated pace, regardless of the amount of food consumed.

There is no need to worry about this, the main thing is to control the portion size, adjust the frequency of meals, and review your diet (it should be balanced, complete and healthy).

With childbirth, a woman loses about 6 kilos gained, which includes the weight of the newborn, placenta and amniotic fluid. After some time, the volume of circulating blood decreases and excess fluid is removed from the woman’s body. Thus, about 4 more kilograms are consumed.

What are the dangers of being overweight during pregnancy?

Practice has shown that in 76% of cases, the danger is caused only by an increase in weight gain of twice or more than the norm. What does such a deviation from the norm promise?

1. Excess weight creates a colossal additional load on the pregnant woman’s body, on her spine and internal organs.
2. Excess weight contributes to the development of diseases in a pregnant woman such as varicose veins, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and other ailments of the cardiovascular, endocrine and nervous systems. Many of them can negatively affect the child’s health.
3. A significant layer of fat makes it difficult to visualize during an ultrasound, which prevents the doctor from more accurately determining whether the baby is developing normally.
4. If you are overweight, there is a high risk of miscarriage in early pregnancy, and premature birth in the third trimester due to premature rupture of amniotic fluid.
5. Excess weight is fraught with weak labor, which is the cause of post-term pregnancy or forced cesarean section. Heavy weight can cause difficulties during surgery.
6. The postpartum rehabilitation period takes longer, and negative consequences are possible.
7. Extra pounds contribute to the appearance of swelling and stretch marks on a woman’s body (due to excessive stretching of the skin).
8. Excess body weight provokes earlier aging of the placenta and the development of late toxicosis, which poses a threat to the baby’s health.
9. Excess weight in an expectant mother can contribute to the development of fetal hypoxia, neuralgic diseases and obesity in the future.

Rolls and cakes, fried potatoes with sausages, a fatty chop with pasta and “mayonnaise” salad, a sandwich with dry sausage or pizza, half a loaf of bread with a spoonful of borscht, pickles and canned food are unhealthy foods for pregnant women.

“Eat whatever you want and as much as you want” is a standard phrase of Soviet-trained obstetricians and gynecologists or those who studied at a medical university according to an outdated program using textbooks and methods from the 90s.

You can eat anything, but within reason. You can eat half a roll with milk for an afternoon snack, provided that the breakfast was hearty and healthy, and for lunch and dinner there is only healthy food.

And a barbecue eaten outdoors with a vegetable salad will be beneficial if such picnics occur no more than once a month, and the rest of the time the woman’s diet is rich in vitamins and contains only natural products.

With fractional nutritious meals, a pregnant woman will not gain extra pounds. Everything will go where it is needed and for what it is needed.

If your weight increases rapidly with proper four meals a day, you need to reduce the portion of what you eat. During pregnancy, there is no need, as they say, to “eat for two”; it is enough to increase the normal portion by just half a fist. The child needs vitamins, minerals and a balanced supply of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

For breakfast, you can eat oatmeal with dried and candied fruits, drink a glass of natural juice or compote. Or make an omelette with herbs and tomatoes, eat it with a piece of bread and drink a glass of berry juice.

An afternoon snack can be light - a banana, a muesli bar or a handful of nuts; or more satisfying - a couple of small pieces of rye bread with butter and a slice of cheese, green tea with three squares of your favorite chocolate, an apple.

Lunch could be like this: soup with meatballs and a slice of black bread, or rice with a steamed cutlet and vegetable salad, and for dessert - natural yogurt with fruit or curd cake with fermented baked milk.

For dinner, boiled chicken with garlic or cheese sauce, country-style potatoes (from the oven) and fresh vegetables, cocoa with milk and gingerbread are suitable.

Extra pounds are not always that way. If before pregnancy a woman’s own weight was less than normal, then excessive weight gain during pregnancy is quite normal; the body simply replenishes the missing fat deposits to prevent miscarriage. This is how nature intended it.

When we discussed the issue of belly growth during pregnancy, we did not discuss the issue of weight gain that is acceptable during pregnancy. And this question always worries expectant mothers due to many circumstances - worries about the baby’s health, and about the upcoming birth, and, of course, about the further restoration of previous forms. Of course, during pregnancy, weight naturally increases, if only because the child grows and gains weight, and along with it the uterus also gains weight. But body weight depends not only on the child’s weight and size.

Why is control needed?

When the question arises about a woman’s weight gain, almost all pregnant women worry, because many have heard that excess weight is harmful to the child, some worry about appearance and the possibility of losing weight after childbirth, especially when the gain exceeds 15 kg or more. But is the extra pounds gained during pregnancy really very serious and is it sometimes even necessary to go to the hospital? Is it possible to independently regulate weight and gain, how much a woman can gain during pregnancy, so that doctors don’t swear at her? And will the figure return to normal after the baby is born?

When a woman first crosses the threshold of the office of an obstetrician-gynecologist at a antenatal clinic or medical center, she undergoes a number of mandatory procedures, including measuring her height and weight. If a woman registers already in the late stages of pregnancy, she must be asked about her weight before pregnancy. Then, at each further visit to the doctor, the measurement procedure will be repeated and the weight will be carefully monitored. This is necessary to monitor the woman’s health and the level of development of the baby. The health and well-being of both depends on weight gain, and in addition, weight gain affects further childbirth and even signals some complications and diseases.

You can control your weight on your own between doctor’s appointments, but you need to do this in the right way to avoid possible errors. The following conditions must be met: weigh yourself at the same time, it is better to do this in the morning on an empty stomach, after waking up and going to the toilet. It is also worth weighing yourself naked, in your underwear, and you should definitely weigh yourself on an empty stomach. This will be your most accurate weight, which will allow you to control your condition. Get yourself a notebook or piece of paper where you can write down your weight measurements weekly, and then show this piece of paper to your doctor at each visit. This is a very useful practice, since it is not always possible to objectively assess a pregnant woman’s weight at a doctor’s appointment. If everything is fine during pregnancy, your measurements will be quite sufficient, but if there is swelling, a tendency to increase blood pressure, health complaints or weight loss, your doctor may recommend that you weigh yourself more often - even monitoring your weight daily.

How much can you add?

During pregnancy, women gain weight in different ways: from 10 to 20 kg or even more, and this depends on the course of pregnancy, the lifestyle of the expectant mother, her condition and well-being, the presence or absence of toxicosis in the first trimester of pregnancy, edema and problems during pregnancy. second half. However, it is a reliably known fact that both insufficient weight gain and excess weight during pregnancy have a harmful effect on the health of the mother and baby. If you are underweight, both may lack nutrients, minerals and vitamins, and if you are overweight, there may be problems with blood pressure, kidneys, diabetes and complications such as preeclampsia.

Doctors observing pregnant women adhere in their work to certain and average standards for weight gain in the first and second half of pregnancy. On average, this is about 250-300 grams in the first 20 weeks, and then half a kilo per week in the second half of pregnancy. Summarizing these data, the average pregnant woman gains weight during pregnancy from 12 to 16 kg, but the gains vary greatly from the initial body weight. Today, doctors use special indices to assess gains, calculated based on body height and weight. In this case, you need to divide your initial weight before pregnancy by your height in meters, and then square the resulting number. According to this index, women are divided into three groups:
- women of average build, with indexes from 19 to 26,
- women with underweight and index less than 19,
- women with excess weight, and indexes over 26.

For women with average indices, gains are based on the statistical average; they can gain from 10 to 16 kg during the entire pregnancy; if they are underweight, they can gain from 13 to 20 kg; if they are overweight, they can gain a maximum of 10 kg. More accurate data is given in weight tables based on body mass index.

Why can't you not gain weight at all?

The answer to this question is simple - even if your body does not add a single gram of fat, the baby and its surrounding tissues will add additional weight. Let's look at what causes so much weight to be added. First of all, the body height and weight of the child himself - by the time of birth he can be on average about 3-4 kg. Around the baby there is still on average about 1-1.5 kg of amniotic fluid, plus the weight of the placenta will be pulled by about a kilogram - this is already on average 6-8 kg, add to this the weight of the uterus - this is about 1-1.5 kg, plus here The increase in circulating blood volume is about another kilogram - a total of 8-10 kg. During pregnancy, a little fat is always stored in reserve on the back, hips and buttocks, arms and chest, to be later spent on milk - this is about 2 kg, plus the weight of the breast itself - about another 1 kg. So, on average, the amount of gain is 10-12 kg.

In addition, there may still be edema, which greatly affects the final weight, as well as fat deposition where before pregnancy, according to the body, there was not enough fat.

For plump women with a high body mass index, the only increase left is for the baby and his tissues; she has fats initially, so the increases should be minimal. But for a skinny woman who can barely support her own skeleton, it’s possible to gain weight. After all, strength will also be needed after childbirth, when you need to breastfeed the baby - there calories will be actively consumed, and the thrifty body will store them in subcutaneous fats.

Is it possible to influence weight gain?

Yes, of course, but up to a certain limit. If a woman exhausts herself with diets for the sake of a slim figure in the future, of course the weight will gain to a minimum. But this will affect the health of the child and herself, and this is not the best option. The child will still take his own from the mother’s body and the placenta, uterus and he himself will grow, but they will “suck” the strength and nutrients from the woman’s body. If for a plump expectant mother, getting rid of excess fat is good, then for a thin mother it is a chance for strong metabolic changes in the future, which can seriously impair health after childbirth.

Basically, weight fluctuates due to calorie intake and the amount of fluid; a woman can and should control these parameters. And, if everything is not so simple with fluid consumption, and doctors’ opinions on its limitation vary greatly, then with regard to nutrition everything is simpler. Recommendations about eating for two during pregnancy are erroneous and harmful; a child up to 3-4 kg in size does not need the same amount of nutrition as eating “for two.” He needs food for his weight, and this is one additional meal per day from his mother.

In matters of nutrition, it is best to focus on your appetite, of course, within reason. If you want a cake, eat a piece, you don't have to eat the whole cake at once. If the body receives more calories than it expends, it begins to store them in reserve without removing them from the body, then excess weight will form. But you don’t need to starve either; you need to eat normally, as you always do, adjusted for your mass index. If you are plump, reduce the volume of your usual diet by a quarter or a third, replacing most of the high-calorie foods with fresh vegetables, fruits, and light dairy products - both taste and benefits. What a pregnant woman definitely needs is proteins, the baby’s body organs are built from them, and their deficiency greatly affects its development. But carbohydrates and fats can be somewhat limited, fats in favor of vegetable oils, carbohydrates in favor of complex cereals in the form of starch.

It is better to consult a doctor about fluids that cause weight gain; restricting fluids during pregnancy does not always help in treating edema, but it is difficult for pregnant women to tolerate. Therefore, the issue with liquid is ambiguous. On average, you need at least 1.5-2 liters of fluid for metabolism, that is, you don’t need to sit completely without water, but you shouldn’t drink liters of it either - there is a lot of water in foods, especially soups, dairy dishes, vegetables and fruits, you want drink - you can eat an apple or a cucumber, this often helps. But usually swelling does not arise from drinking, but from hormonal imbalance, salt retention and the characteristics of the pregnant body. Closer to childbirth, most women notice weight loss and swelling, which means that the wise body, at the moment when the fluid is no longer needed, begins to expel it itself.

Maria Sokolova

Reading time: 7 minutes

A A

Weight gain in an expectant mother should occur regardless of her appetite, desires and height with her physique. But you should monitor your weight more diligently during pregnancy than before. Weight gain has a direct connection with the process of fetal growth, and control over weight gain helps to prevent various troubles in a timely manner. Therefore, it wouldn’t hurt to have your own diary, where you regularly enter data on weight gain.

So, what weight is the norm for the expectant mother? , and how does weight gain occur during pregnancy?

Factors that affect a woman's pregnancy weight

In principle, there are simply no strict norms and weight gain - every woman has her own weight before pregnancy. For a girl in the “middle weight category” the norm will be considered increase – 10-14 kg . But she is influenced by many factors. For example:

• The growth of the expectant mother(accordingly, the taller the mother, the greater the weight).
• Age(young mothers are less likely to be overweight).
• Early toxicosis(after it, as you know, the body tries to replenish the lost kilograms).
• Baby size(the larger it is, the heavier the mother is, accordingly).
• Little or polyhydramnios.
• Increased appetite, as well as control over it.
• Tissue fluid(with fluid retention in the mother’s body, there will always be excess weight).

To avoid complications, you should not go beyond the known weight limits. It's definitely not a good idea to go hungry. – the baby should receive all the substances he needs, and his health should not be risked. But you shouldn’t eat everything - lean on healthy dishes.

How much weight does a pregnant woman normally gain?

During the first third of pregnancy, the expectant mother, as a rule, gains about 2 kg. The second trimester adds more body weight to the “piggy bank” every week. 250-300 g. By the end of the term, the increase will already be equal to 12-13 kg.
How is the weight distributed?

• Baby– about 3.3-3.5 kg.
• Uterus– 0.9-1 kg
• Placenta– about 0.4 kg.
• Mammary gland– about 0.5-0.6 kg.
• Adipose tissue– about 2.2-2.3 kg.
• Amniotic fluid– 0.9-1 kg.
• Circulating blood volume(increase) – 1.2 kg.
• Tissue fluid– about 2.7 kg.

After the baby is born, the weight gained usually goes away quite quickly. Although sometimes you need to work hard for this (physical activity + proper nutrition helps).

Independent calculation of the weight of the expectant mother using the formula

There is no uniformity in weight gain. Its most intensive growth is observed after the twentieth week of pregnancy. Until then, the expectant mother can gain only 3 kg. At every examination of a pregnant woman, the doctor weighs her. Normally, the increase should be 0.3-0.4 kg per week. If a woman gains more than this norm, fasting days and a special diet are prescribed.

You cannot make such a decision on your own! If your weight gain does not deviate in any direction, then there is no particular reason to worry.

Read also:


You can independently understand the dynamics of weight gain according to the formula:

• Multiply 22 g for each 10 cm of mother's height. That is, with a height of, for example, 1.6 m, the formula will be as follows: 22x16 = 352 g. Such an increase per week is considered normal .

Normal weight gain by week of pregnancy

In this case, BMI (body mass index) is equal to weight/height.

• For skinny mothers: BMI< 19,8.
• For mothers with an average build: 19,8 < ИМТ < 26,0.
• For curvy moms: BMI > 26.

Weight gain table:

Based on the table, it becomes clear that expectant mothers gain weight in different ways.

That is, the skinny woman will have to gain weight more than others. And it applies to her least of all rule on restrictions regarding the consumption of sweets and fatty foods .

But for curvy mothers, it’s better to give up sweets/floury foods in favor of healthy dishes.

Maria Sokolova

Colady magazine pregnancy expert. Mother of three children, obstetrician by training, writer by vocation.

Not all expectant mothers understand how important it is to respect reasonable boundaries when it comes to nutrition. Some people worry about their figure, which will be difficult to get into shape after childbirth, and begin to limit themselves in everything, while others think that now they literally need to eat “for two” and lean heavily on their favorite foods.

In fact, any deviations from the norm can equally pose a danger to the health of the woman herself and her baby. What do you need to know about changes in body weight during pregnancy, and how to correctly calculate optimal weight gain?

What are the dangers of being underweight or overweight during pregnancy?

The average weight gain during pregnancy is from 9 to 14 kg. Of course, this value cannot be applied to each specific case, since the exact figure depends on many factors, but a sharp deviation from it in one direction or the other should alert the expectant mother.

• Underweight often occurs in pregnant women in the first months, that is, during the period when they suffer from toxicosis. If the loss is not accompanied by severe vomiting (after every meal), the baby is most likely out of danger.

Low weight carries the greatest risk in the second and third trimesters, when the fetus is in great need of nutrients and their lack can lead to a lack of body weight in the newborn, various developmental pathologies and psychological problems. In this case, the woman’s level of important hormones may drop, which can lead to miscarriage or premature birth.

• Excess weight is also not only an aesthetic problem for pregnancy, since the entire burden falls on the health of the mother. Often it provokes the development of gestosis - a dangerous condition called late toxicosis. Preeclampsia poses a direct threat to the child’s health, as it can cause other troubles. Read more about gestosis

Excess weight is even more dangerous when it occurs not due to overeating, but due to edema- usually in such cases the increase occurs in a short period of time (more than a kilogram per week). This may be the first symptom of dropsy - excess accumulation of fluid in the tissues of the body, the main cause of which is a disorder of the kidneys.

It is categorically not recommended to solve such problems on your own, therefore, if a pregnant woman experiences a sharp increase in body weight, she should immediately consult a doctor.

And in order to notice a threatening condition in time and take action, the expectant mother must know what the optimal weight gain during pregnancy should be in her case.

Why do pregnant women gain weight?

Contrary to popular belief, pregnant women gain excess weight not only due to the weight of the growing baby and the fat layer - they make up about half of the total figure. Over the course of nine months, a woman’s uterus, blood volume and intercellular fluid increase, amniotic fluid and placenta are formed, and the mammary glands begin to actively grow.

These changes are necessary for the proper growth and development of the baby, that is, they should be monitored not only by the gynecologist, but also by the woman herself.

What determines weight gain during pregnancy?

To calculate the acceptable weight gain for a woman, her initial weight should be taken into account, that is, BMI (body mass index), which is calculated using a special formula: body weight in kilograms/height in meters squared. The resulting result allows you to assess how close a woman’s weight is to normal: if the figure falls in the range of 19.8-26, the weight is normal, less than 19 is insufficient, more than 26 is excessive, and a BMI above 30 indicates obesity.

• Thin, fragile women (the so-called asthenic type) should gain 13-18 kg during pregnancy;
• For women with a normal build and weight, the permissible increase is 11-16 kg;
• Obese and overweight ladies normally gain from 7 to 11 kg;
• In case of obesity, the doctor prescribes a special diet for the expectant mother, and her weight gain should not exceed 6 kg.

In addition, it is very important to take into account the gestational age of the fetus by week, since during each week certain changes occur in the body of the woman and the fetus that affect the overall weight.

Weight by week of pregnancy

Weight gain during pregnancy occurs unevenly over the weeks - at the very beginning it is almost unnoticeable, increases significantly in the middle and decreases again closer to childbirth.

The second trimester, when the baby begins to grow and develop especially actively, a woman should be especially careful, as weight gain takes on its initial significance. The numbers are distributed as follows: about 500 g per week for thin women, no more than 450 g for pregnant women of normal weight, and no more than 300 g for overweight women.

In the third trimester, pregnant women gain less weight, and this process is natural, as their body prepares for the birth of the baby.

It is very important to ensure that body weight does not decrease too sharply, as this may indicate pathologies in the development of pregnancy.

What are the dangers of slow weight gain?

Slow weight gain is a relative concept for pregnant women, since in the first trimester it may not only not gain, but also decrease.

Some expectant mothers gain the first kilograms only after the 14th week - this usually concerns petite women who do not have a genetic predisposition to be overweight or women suffering from toxicosis. In the first case, weight gains slowly throughout the entire nine months, which should not cause concern if the pregnant woman is feeling normal. If we talk about women suffering from toxicosis, then by the second trimester the malaise usually disappears, body weight returns to normal and weight gain takes its course.

If a pregnant woman fasts, follows a strict diet, or simply eats poorly, then her risk of miscarriage or premature birth increases significantly.

In such a situation, a woman needs to give up restrictions and bring her diet back to normal. You need to eat small portions several times a day, between meals, snack on cheese, nuts or dried fruits, and you can add a little butter or sour cream to your food.

Read about nutrition rules during pregnancy

What are the dangers of rapid weight gain?

Rapid weight gain is typical for multiple pregnancies, women with underweight and too young mothers whose bodies are still developing.

In other cases, it is the result of normal overeating and requires adjustments to the diet. Excess weight does not pose a direct threat to the life of a child, but it can cause diabetes, high blood pressure, preeclampsia and excess body weight of the baby, which can lead to complications during childbirth and even cesarean section.

If weight gains too quickly, a woman is recommended to consult a nutritionist and give up quickly digestible carbohydrates (sweets, baked goods, pasta) and include fruits, vegetables, cereals and dairy products in her menu.

The situation is much more dangerous if excess weight is a consequence of edema. In order to identify the problem in time and receive medical help, the expectant mother should have a table of weight gain during pregnancy and accurate scales at hand - an increase of more than 1 kg per week is a serious cause for concern.

Read about how to avoid gaining excess weight during pregnancy.

Is weight loss during pregnancy dangerous?

In the first trimester of pregnancy, weight loss is quite possible due to toxicosis, in the second this situation is usually associated with various diseases and stress, and in the third trimester, a loss of 1-2 kg is a harbinger of an early birth.

In any case, weight gain during pregnancy is a purely individual matter, so it is very important for the expectant mother to monitor her well-being and the quality of food she eats.

If weight goes away quickly and sharply (especially in the first and second trimester), you should immediately inform your doctor about this, as this can be a serious threat to the health and even the life of the baby.

Diet during pregnancy

Diets, strict nutrition systems and fasting days (especially the so-called “hungry days”) during the period of bearing a child are strictly prohibited, even if the pregnant woman is overweight.

It is very important to ensure that the baby receives all the nutrients, vitamins and microelements, so the expectant mother should not starve - she just needs to balance her diet accordingly, and if necessary, get advice from a specialist.

Norms of weight gain and fetal growth

Increases in height and weight of a child are no less important parameters than the body weight of the expectant mother. They begin to measure it from about the 8th week, since it is simply impossible to do this earlier.

The baby's body weight and height increase unevenly - at first the fetus grows rapidly, and starting from the 14-15th week the process slows down slightly. This is due to the fact that the main task of the child during this period is to develop new skills (blinking, moving his arms, etc.), and not to gain weight and height. At the beginning of the third trimester, the baby's weight gain accelerates again, and by the date of birth his body weight reaches from 2.5 to 3.5 kg.

The weight and height of a child are individual parameters and depend on many factors, primarily gender and genetic predisposition, but there are average figures that are considered to be the norm.

In addition, an ultrasound examination necessarily measures such indicators as:

• BPR - biparietal head size (the distance between the outer surface of the lower contour and the inner surface of the lower);
• DB - thigh length;
• AB - abdominal circumference;
• DHA - chest diameter.

These indicators should increase in proportion to the duration of pregnancy, and together with height and weight, they are very important parameters that can tell about the presence or absence of any pathologies.

Any lag or advance is a reason for consultation with a doctor, but in no case a reason for panic, because every little person is an individual who may have his own characteristics.

Most pregnant women are afraid of gaining a lot of excess weight, which will then be impossible to get rid of. The answer is simple - you need to control the increase.

Gaining weight during pregnancy is completely normal, and there is no escape from it. So take it for granted and love your new self. The normal weight gain during pregnancy is 10–14 kg. This occurs due to the fact that, firstly, the fetus grows, and secondly, weight increases during pregnancy due to the restructuring of the body to meet the needs of the developing child, as well as in preparation for the upcoming birth.

Weight gain during pregnancy is a gradual increase in the fetus, placenta, uterus, and the amount of amniotic fluid. The mammary glands and fat deposits also become larger. Weight gain during pregnancy occurs evenly as the child grows. And it is desirable that there are no sudden jerks. Every body is different, and weight gain during pregnancy occurs differently for everyone. Therefore, you should not be equal to other mothers.

Weight gain depends on what your weight was before pregnancy. As a rule, women with low body weight gain more weight during pregnancy than women with high body weight. In obese women, pregnancy may even be accompanied by weight loss, and in their case this does not threaten the child at all. Typically, weight gain is normal for those who had a body weight within the standard before pregnancy.

The next factor is nutrition. The appearance of excess weight in many women occurs due to their own negligence. Like, I need to eat for two, not deny myself anything, etc. This leads to excess weight gain, because the woman begins to eat more than she and the child need, and also consume unhealthy foods. To prevent this from happening, you need to balance your diet. Also a good way to control weight during pregnancy is split meals. You need to eat often and in fist-sized portions.

Controlling excess weight during pregnancy

There is an easy way to keep yourself in shape. This is a weight gain monitor that will help you track the pounds you gain each week of your pregnancy. Today there are many convenient online services. Using a weight calculator during pregnancy, you can easily find out its normal indicators. This will help you to always be on the alert and begin to take action if the number of added kilograms has become too large. You will also be able to notice in time that an abnormal decrease in body weight has begun. And it will be much more convenient for your gynecologist if you provide him with data on your body weight measurements.

With this simple control after pregnancy, you can return to your normal weight much faster. You can estimate your current weight using our pregnancy weight gain calculator.