Pregnancy health

Minor health issues
Stretch marks | Morning sickness | Tiredness | Constipation | Swollen ankles and fingers

Weight gain during pregnancy

It's hard enough in our sizeist culture to avoid obsessing about weight when you're not pregnant. When you are - and weight gain's inevitable - it can be difficult to adjust. Not helped by all and sundry commenting on your burgeoning bod.

"Why do people think you'll be happy to be told 'God you're huge'? I feel bad enough about my body having blown up like a balloon and resembling a weeble and I don't need reminding thank you. Getting paranoid now that I'm going to have a 2 stone baby... Next person that says it could well lose an eye." 0Clair0

"I thought I would feel beautiful - I just felt really, really fat. Mind you, I've had an issue most of my life with weight (even though I am now at a healthy weight) so for me it was a very psychological battle." SittingBull

And it's not as if we're all sylphs before we're eating for two:

"I'm normally quite big anyway and I'm now nearly 19 weeks but I look like I'm about 7 or 8 months! I find it quite entertaining when people mention it at work and point to my middle belly to say to them 'Oh, that's not baby, that's flab - here's the baby!'" PurpleLostPrincess

"I'm a large lady and was a bit concerned - I'd put on close to a stone by 20 weeks and another 4lb by 30 weeks. But I have not been weighed at any appointments and if the professionals aren't worried, I'm not going to get hung up on it." AliP

Dieting when you're pregnant is a no-no. A bit like what you can and can't eat during pregnancy, so advice about how much weight you can safely gain fluctuates.

The NHS says if women who are the recommended weight for their height before they're pregnant gain between 10 and 12.5kg (22-28lb) they'll have a lower risk of complications. But then notes: "Many women who put on weight outside this range go on to have healthy babies."

"There was widespread advice in the 1960s that women should only gain 15lb in pregnancy. Of course, women were okayed to smoke then, weren't supposed to exercise and were told breastfeeding was no better than bottlefeeding. So whatever you do, don't listen to your Mum if she tells you you're putting on too much weight!" Zebra

Gaining either too much or too little weight can lead to health problems that might affect your unborn baby:

Too much weight increases the risk of raised blood pressure, gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia and a caesarean delivery
Too little weight increases the risk of premature birth and a baby with a low birth weight

How and where you gain the weight doesn't always correspond to the baby books either.

"I've found the weight doesn't go on uniformly like the charts suggest - it doesn't have to be 70% in the second half of pregnancy. You'll know if you're eating well (and as far as I'm concerned that does include a compulsory cake each day). Remember a lot of that weight is in your breasts and for me that was a bonus." Ninja

"Judging by my jeans, a lot of the weight is in my thighs!" Monkey

If you can no longer see the lower half of your body, remember most of the weight is baby and extra fluid and, once you've given birth, you'll be a whole lot lighter. You won't (unless you're a celebrity) instantly regain your pre-pregnancy figure, but you should gradually lose any excess weight.

"First time around I put on over 3.5 stone, which I found a nightmare to lose - and I'm an aerobics instructor. But don't get too hung up: if you have a bad eating day try and be good the next day and enjoy your pregnancy." Crazynow

Minor health issues
Stretch marks | Morning sickness | Tiredness | Constipation | Swollen ankles and fingers