to wonder why some expectant mums gain around 80 pounds?

[eliza456]

This isn't meant to cause offence. But if a baby weighs 7-10 pounds (full term) then why do some women gain over 80 pounds in total?

i understand there are fluids etc that contribute, but, 70 pounds worth??

purely curious to see if anyone has any insight into this

I gained 4st with my first it was awful. With my second I only put on a stone. I was very careful with my diet as had gestational diabetes.

I put on 4 stone with my first. I always attributed that to my clubbing days being over. Prior to getting pregnant, I was out 3/4 nights a week, literally dancing my ass off and never had to think about what I ate. I was a size 6.

It never shifted despite me walking miles most days with DD in her massive Silver Cross tank which I deliberately got so I couldn't get it in the car!

With my 2nd pregnancy I put on about 2 stone. Maintained the same weight after my twin pregnancy surprisingly then managed to lose that additional two stone by the time they were 7!

With my last pregnancy I put on another 4 stone of which I have managed to lose 2 stone of (DS3 is 7) since being diagnosed hypothyroid last year but I have had symptoms since DC1 was born. Never had my horrible dry skin until after I had her, so I blame it all on that.

I put on an absolute shed load. Maybe not quite that much, but a lot.

I hopped on the scales the day before I went in to be induced.

Put it this way - DD was weighed on Monday before a general anaesthetic. She's a tall 8YO. Our combined weight right now is exactly the same as my weight on my last day of pregnancy.

I only gained about 12kg during both my pregnancies.
Having to eat for two is a myth. I ate well and worked and exercised until about 3 weeks before babies were born.
Back to normal after about 6 weeks.

Hey OP, what a lovely and non-judgemental question!

I gained 3+ stone. My baby was 9lbs but the rest was because i was a size 6-8 beforehand and was eating significantly more to make sure baby had enough nutrients, especially in the first 12 weeks. I was literally shovelling food in as usually I undereat then binge and I wanted to know I was hitting 2000 calorie. Maybe it was too much. But who gives a fuck, he is healthy. And towards the end you just get big ok? Everything swells, even walking the dog for an hour plus a day.

I hate this sort of shit. I feel bad enough about how I look at the moment without having some arsehole come along like “why do pregnant ladies gain so much weight?!”

No idea. When I’m pregnant I always feel sick and the thought of eating in general is unpleasant, plus I feel full quickly.

I gained 16lbs with my son, he was nearly 8lbs plus placenta and fluid so I lost it all within two weeks.

I don't know how women don't gain loads of weight to be honest!

Because we feel full quickly and get aversions to literally everything.

I’m having twins this time and two weeks ago, I weighed the same as I did pre pregnancy. I have a very obvious bump, but no weight gain as such.

It’s just the way my body works. I really struggle to gain in pregnancy!

I’ve gained 3 stone both pregnancies. Stuffing my face with bad food to stave off sickness and then as time went on I just realised it’s 9 months of my life where I can eat all the food and not worry. Have eaten mostly healthily but have also indulged in lots of cake and ice cream. Both healthy pregnancies and I lost it all the 1st time within a few months, hoping to this time too but I must admit it’s a slight worry that it will be harder. You are also programmed to lay down fat stores for feeding the baby once they arrive, so although I’ve been really greedy I’ve also felt really really hungry the 2nd & 3rd trimesters.

I did! I started off about 13 stone (5ft 8) and after giving birth to 6lb baby was 21 and a half stone. No diabetes, no raised blood pressure, not even considered high risk. You asked why did I gain the weight...I have no idea, but I suspect it may have something to do with eating more than I needed to. HTH

I had crippling SPD that left me essentially disabled. I could barely move and was in pain 24/7, be it from walking or turning over in bed. I was also ravenous all the time. I put on over three stone.

I gained 25-30g both times....went from 52-75kg. Lost it all again by 6 months after birth both times also. No idea why. Continued training muay Thai until 8 months pregnant. Ate normally. No GD. Sons were 3.9 and 3.7kg respectively. Who knows/cares.

Where do you get that 80lb figure from @eliza456 ? Or is it just an exaggerated figure you’ve plucked out of mid air so you can judge other women?

I gained 3stone so about 40lbs.
I was only left with 1st of that when dd was around a month old and that came off easily enough.

I blame on being hungrier than usual.
Eating out of boredom, I went on maternity leave during winter so hardly went out.
Stopping smoking, wanted to snack all the time.
Run up to Christmas so more delicious food around than usual.
Comfort.
And finding those cinnamon, caramel waffle things in lidle.. to this day I still can't walk past them without feeling sick.. i must have ate boxes of them

With my 3rd pregnancy I couldn't move without throwing up. The only thing that stopped me throwing up whilst lying still on my side was constantly eating brioche. If that pregnancy had survived I'd probably be twice the size I am now... and grateful for it, but there we go.

I gained 3 stone (42 lbs) when I was pregnant with my DD,35 odd years ago,and was told that it was 'far too much'. DD weighed 7 and a half pounds,and I'd lost another 21 lbs by the time I left hospital (back in those days you were kept in for 10 days with your first!).

Weird judgy question, OP. But it dies seem to have brought out the usual handful of women trilling that” eating for two is a myth” and crowing about how they had perfect washboard abs a day after giving birth because they didn’t let themselves go like other women, which is always good for comedy value, if only for their utter lack of self-awareness of how horrible and competitive they are coming across as.

26 weeks and I've gained about 2 stone since BFP. The first trimester the only food I could be guaranteed to keep down was McDonald's...so I ate it. Now I'm not puking, I am eating more healthily but if I fancy something, I'll eat it.

I've previously lost 7 stone with Slimming World and know I can do it again after.

I put on around six stone, I ate very little and was sick up to ten times a day from five weeks up until labour. I have a hormone condition which I’m guessing affected this as I was slim before falling pregnant.

OP - Respectfully, why are you asking this question? A lot of people imply you were liking for a bun fight, but you mention an eating disorder history and not being weighed due to it possibly affecting your pregnancy. Are you worried somehow you could gain a lot with a subsequent pregnancy and trying to avoid it? Are you pregnant again and starting to find yourself afraid of weight gain?

If this is really idle curiosity, just be careful because it’s still focusing on weight. If you’re experiencing any mental health issues though, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with needing some help - much like an addiction, disordered eating is something you don’t just recover from once and done. Please speak to your GP or someone you trust if you’re having any of “those thoughts” again. I’m sure everyone who cares for you would want you to do whatever you need to be healthy.

Take care and have these in case you’re struggling and this thread was the beginning of something.

I gained 5 stone because I had spd and sciatic and my active job and exercise i had to quit at 20 weeks cause i coukd hardly walk basically ended up on bed rest

So boredom, minimum calorie output, a 9lb 9.5 baby, huge placenta that all the midwife came in to see, fluid retention - I was like the Michelin man, loads of amniotic fluid which flooded all over the nurses feet and nearly hit her in the face.

Surely it's not particularly hard to imagine why some gain more than others 🤔

3.5 stone was gone within ten days though.

I gained 5.5 stone (77lb) with my first from a starting point of 9st 2. This was despite having all day sickness for 7 months and couldn't face much in the way of food. My GP and midwife gave me hell. My daughter was 10lb and the placenta was huge and there was gallons of fluid. I was 2 stone lighter after she was born and lost a further 3 stone within 2 months (almost continual breast feeding!). By this point I looked like a Barbie Doll - skinny with enormous breasts! I 'only' put on 4 stone with my second.
This time my GP and midwife told me not to worry, some people just put on a lot.
Excessive pregnancy weight gain isn't just for the greedy and lazy.

I gained about 40lbs and had a massive bump. Baby was just over 8lbs. Midwives had no idea why I got so huge. I had lost it all by the time I next weighed myself four months or so later. It was very strange. Just had a normal-ish gain with my second child.
I can't imagine how uncomfortable it would be to add 80lbs but I am quite short!

Yes it seems a lot (over 5 stone?) but I can definitely see how it happens. If you're very small to start with or barely eat, you might find your appetite/calorie needs increase a lot. Or what about high risk pregnancies where you're basically bed bound, can't exercise etc. I can definitely see how it creeps on then. Plus food aversions so only able to eat junk food/food you wouldn't normally eat much of.

I gained a fair bit with DS, I think around 3 stone, and like pp I lost most (all but a stone) very very quickly, then the rest came off gradually. I was able to exercise though, which I did (lightly) from about 15 weeks. By the time he was 10 months old I was lighter than pre pregnancy.

When not pregnant, I watch what I eat very closely in the week, and exercise a fair bit. So for me it does pile on. I'm pregnant again and I'd already gained about 8-10lbs by the dating scan as I've been very nauseous/sick and need to eat regularly, and all I could stomach was crisps/sandwiches/stodgy carbs.

The only way to not vomit until about 17 weeks was to eat every 1 1/2 to 2 hours (and take maximum dose of cyclyzine) and for the rest of the pregnancy I had to eat every 3 hours (and still take some cyclyzine) to keep the nausea at a bareable level. Obviously the weight piled on.

I know in Japan and Russia the doctors will tell you off if you gain more than 10kg.