Weight gain - 20 pounds a lot?

[chloem93]

Hi all,

Is 20 pounds a lot to gain in pregnancy? I'm full term now and have gained 20, my midwife has said that's a lot and has laughed at it. It makes me feel like I shouldn't eat so much but I don't know if I'm eating the right amount of calories or too much per day. I use to only eat one meal a day before my pregnancy and use to smoke like a chimney (until I gave up in February), so I feel like maybe my appetite has increased a lot since I've been pregnant. I know I'm having a girl and she's about 8 pounds at this point, I'm due on the 15th. How much extra weight have I gained? Does anyone know how much everything else weighs (placenta, fluids ect). My fluids have been put down as 7. I wasn't overweight before my pregnancy, had a healthy BMI and I'm 25.

Thanks all in advance

20 pounds sounds normal to me. Myfriend who recently gave birth said she gained 10kg which is just over 20lbs and her baby was 8lbs when he was born too. I have no idea why your midwife has laughed at that - it hurts when people laugh at your weight, be you overweight, a healthy weight or underweight.

Pre-pregnancy I was around 57kg
I was about 80kg the day before I gave birth at 38 weeks so that's a 20kg increase and my baby wasn't large 7lb1
Your midwife was just being odd

It all depends on your starting weight and height. This calculator seems to match what my obgyn has told me www.babycenter.com/pregnancy-weight-g

I put on nearly 4 stone! No issues throughout and nobody said it to me during pregnancy

I’m currently 36 weeks and have put on roughly 2 stone and I was exercising at the gym regularly up until about 22 weeks and still pretty active up until about 28 weeks. As long as you’ve been eating healthily and staying active, you’re fine. At birth, the combined weight of an average baby, placenta and bodily fluids which you lose in one go is about 10-12 lbs anyway so I wouldn’t stress. 20lbs sounds absolutely fine. Your body stores extra fat in preparation for breast feeding as well so I’m not sure why your midwife laughed.

I gained a lot in my first pregnancy - I don't know how much on the scales but I went from a 12/14 to a 16. This time I started as a 16 and have remained the same size, I have been much more conscious about how much / what I have been eating this time - I'm currently 28+2

Of course it depends on your starting BMI but assuming you were not already very obese then 2 stone sounds like a healthy weight gain. You should easily lose the first one in the first few weeks and then work on the second.

38 weeks and have put on 21lbs. No one has passed comment or indicated that it’s a problem.

36 weeks and have gained two stone, so 28lbs. I was borderline underweight to begin with but still hoping not to gain much more. I thought 2-2 1/2 stone was normal?

www.direct2mum.co.uk/webpages/weight-gain-calculator

This link let's you put in your starting weight and current weight, and tells you if you are within the expected weight gain.

Please! 20lbs is a very normal weight gain, I gained 3 stone!! (42lbs). Lost 28lbs (2 stone) of it within 2 weeks of giving birth, everyone is different I suppose x