Putting on weight in pregnancy - why??

[Rhinestone]

Possibly a stupid question but Babycentre tells me I should aim to put on 14 pounds in the second trimester and even has advice on how to eat more calories.

But why is this? The baby won't be weighing this much so why are you supposed to put on more fat?

No idea - I haven't heard that before but then I have absolutely no problems in that department, I just seem to pile it on right from the beginning

I always imagined it was an evolutionary thing to provide energy etc for breastfeeding and recovering from the birth- although most mothers these days probably have enough fat stores anyway i should imagine (looks down at own ample body).

You need a store of fat for breastfeeding. And the extra weight isn't just the baby; there's the placenta, extra muscle in the womb which is larger than usual, amniotic fluid, etc.

Agree with MissPenteuth and add in your extra circulating volume (you have much more blood / fluids while you're pregnant) you soon account for the weight gain. Eating for two is just a myth, you only need about 500 extra calories a day to cope with the physical energy you spend carrying a baby / breastfeeding.

I think I read that too, but my MW said I didn't need to eat any extra until my third trimester.

Go with what your body tells you :)

I eat when I'm hungry (which seems to be all the time.)

What MissSpenteuth and SoozyWoozy said, it is more like a guide to keep your weight gain down to than telling you to put on a stone. With the baby, placenta, extra blood etc, breast growth, it will soon add up.

Baby, placenta, amniotic fluid, uterus muscle, a surprising amount of extra blood, boobie milk ducts, a bit of fat store for breastfeeding.

All adds up!

I agree with ahhhhhpushit there's a lot that happens to your body that will add weight that isn't fat and as others have posted your body puts away maternal fat for breastfeeding and also in case of any period of starvation to sustain you and baby. In my ante natal course we got told that maternal fat is very different from normal fat and is actually a different colour?! Not sure how true that is.

I wouldn't worry about calorie counting though, just go with what your body wants, our bodies are pretty good at working out what we do and don't need. I found different sites had different advice about how many calories and how much weight gain is normal so I didn't pay any attention to it. I also wasn't weighed once during my pregnancy.