WONDERING ABOUT weight ?

As your belly grows and your clothes become tighter, you might begin to worry about your size. What’s ideal?

Obstetricians today are adamant that a pregnant woman should put on neither too little nor too much weight. Previous practices such as strict weight control or uncontrolled weight gain are taboo today. Both result in increased infant mortality at worst and other unhealthy outcomes at best.

An increase of approximately 11kg to 16kg, depending on your body build and height and your weight when you became pregnant, is regarded as ideal. The rate of gain is not uniform, and most women put on more weight between the 17th and 20th weeks than at any other period in pregnancy.

WHERE DOES IT ALL SIT?

Many factors will influence your weight gain during pregnancy, for example, your level of activity, eating preferences and overall size at the start of your pregnancy. The general feeling is that provided you begin your pregnancy at or near your ideal weight your should gain somewhere between 11kg and 16kg during the pregnancy.

The end goal of nutritional planning during pregnancy is to have a healthy mother giving birth to a healthy baby. This is very important to keep in mind and should be your guiding principle when you think about what you eat. First trimester: There is a small weight gain of between 0.7 to 1.4kg. Second and third trimesters: A weight gain of 350 to 450g per week is acceptable.

SO WHAT’S NORMAL?

At an event for pregnant women hosted by the baby brand NUK earlier this year, Johannesburg-based registered dietitian Lila Bruk shared some advice. To calculate how much weight you should gain during pregnancy, you first need to look at what your weight was before conception. Calculate your pre-conception body mass index (BMI) by dividing your weight by your height squared.

Like this: Weigh yourself on an accurate scale.

Measure your height. Calculate your height squared.

Divide your weight in kilograms

The weight of pregnancy is made up of the foetus, the placenta, the enlarged uterus, stored nutrients and milk glands, as well as the extra blood volume and cellular fluid. There is no doubt that your nutritional state has a profound effect on the health and wellbeing of the foetus and the newborn baby, which will extend into early childhood. Pregnancy is an excellent time to re-examine your eating habits and to form better and healthier guidelines for yourself and your new family.

At the end of gestation, the baby actually makes up less than half of the “baby weight”.

The rest is made up of stored nutrients, the afterbirth, the enlarged uterus and milk glands and a much larger volume of blood and fluids. (e.g. 55kg) by your height in metres squared (e.g. 1,6m x 1,6m = 2,56m2), as follows: 55 divided by 2,56 equals 21,48. This is your BMI.

A BMI from 18,5 to 24,9 is the ideal body mass index for women. If you fall in this category, you should gain between 11 and 16 kg during your pregnancy, but if you’re expecting twins, that goes up to 17 to 25 kg. If your BMI indicates that you are overweight or obese, you should gain less, but of course, dieting is out.

Rather talk to a registered dietitian about how to eat well and keep the unhealthy kilos in check. Excessive weight gain can predispose you to conditions such as pre-eclampsia, Lila says.

If our BMI indicates that you are underweight, you should aim to gain more. Again, a dietitian can help you with this. It really is worth a consultation.

EATING FOR TWO?

If you’ve been in the habit of depriving yourself, it can be tempting to use your pregnancy as an excuse to eat all kinds of things you’ve denied yourself by saying you’re ”eating for two”. Rather rethink what this means. You are eating for two, but see if this can rather motivate you to make better choices.

Lila says you really don’t need that much more calories when you’re pregnant than when you’re not. “In fact, the additional calories you need are equivalent to an extra peanut butter sandwich, a banana and a glass of milk.” ●