Realistic weight gain in pregnancy

[Lcol23]

Hi everyone, looking for some advice, how much weight did you actually gain during pregnancy? I’ve been told by my midwife I’ve gone over the expected weight gain and it’s really got me feeling down, I’ve been trying to eat healthily but I am also just so hungry!
im 34+3 weeks today
thanks in advance

I gained 30lb in my first pregnancy and 22lb in my second pregnancy with the majority of the weight gained in the last 8 weeks ish of both pregnancies. I’m not sure what the expected is but it was never mentioned to me so I’m assuming mine must have fell in the normal or my midwife just wasn’t bothered😂

I mean, how much over are you? Four pounds or four stone?

Are you able to exercise? I did eat more than usual in pregnancy, but also tried to spend as much time walking as I could (slowly due to mild PGP)! This seemed to keep the weight increase to a sensible level. Everyone is different though.

Are you also making sure you try to fill up on loads of veg and protein? Getting enough fibre? Sorry if you know this already, but people mean different things when they say healthy!

A few extra pounds don't matter too much, so long as there are no health factors (GD etc).

The only thing I could think that may be her concern is that you usually gain the most weight each week in the last trimester of your pregnancy so if you are already over at 34 weeks then over the next 6 weeks you would be significantly over maybe?

First pregnancy I put on 2.5st and baby was 9lb 11oz.

Second pregnancy I put on 2st and baby was 9lb 5oz.

Breastfeeding sorted the weight gain out.

I put 5 stone on😂😂
But i couldnt walk due to SPD. So for me i would have my breakfast, snack, dinner, snack, tea, snack😂 so i did it to myself but i couldnt exactly exercise the calories off because i was stuck to the sofa due to being in so much pain. Walking upstairs to the toilet took me 30 minutes and id come downstairs and just sit and cry from the amount of pain i was in with my hips.

My baby is 5 month old and ive lost 3 stone of that 5 and still slowly losing it😁

I only ever got weighed at the booking appointment and at a pre-op before a planned section. Why are they weighing you?
I put 18lbs on with one and 16lbs with the other. I lost 8lbs at the start of the second as was too nauseous to eat much which probably helped.

They are absolute bastards about this subject. They say "don't diet when pregnant" but also say "If you are overweight don't put on any weight when pregnant" despite there being 25-30lb of fluid and baby and placenta on your body. So I'd freaking ignore them if you are yourself plus baby weight.

This is not quite true!
baby (7.5 lb)
placenta (1.5 lb)
amniotic fluid (2 lb)
increased blood volume (4 lb)
uterine growth (2 lb)
breast tissue (2 lb)
maternal fluids (4 lb)
Total - 23lb (although these figs are especially high and I have seen lower estimates)
Definitely not 30lb though.

If you are a healthy weight, they do also recommend it's okay to gain 7lb of maternal fat in addition to the direct pregnancy weight, but this is so you can use this energy store for breastfeeding. If you are going to bottle-feed, or if you breastfeed but eat enough to support it, you don't need this 7lb.

The advice varies depending on your pre-pregnancy BMI, or in my experience SHOULD vary but sometimes doesn't. My very slim sister was told she was putting on too much weight and was very upset, but actually for people with a low BMI it's fine to gain more. I think she gained about 40lbs in the end, and it all came off very quickly with breastfeeding.
How much did you weigh before and how much have you put on?

About 15lb with my first. I think it'll be more this time around because I've gained almost 10lb at 30 weeks. I do really struggle in the first trimester with vomiting.

Everyone is different and if you're eating healthy, then what can you do? It may come off very easily afterwards, especially if you're planning on breastfeeding.

@HeyMay You missed out the 7lb of maternal fat you should put on to support breastfeeding. Depends entirely on what source you reach for.

@ehb102 no I didn't. It's my last paragraph.
However as I said, maternal weight to support breastfeeding is an optional extra, not part of the unchangeable weight of the pregnancy itself.

I put on about 5 stone and was worried but lost it all within a few weeks and back to size 10.

I put on around 2 stone during each pregnancy.

First time round about 2.5st had excess fluid and 2nd time maybe 1.5st. Both times I lost it all in a few weeks post. I say that as someone who never loses weight easily and I was not trying except breastfeeding. Also got gallstones after birth of my first that was a rapid weigh loss 🫣

Literally everyone is different.

I am naturally slim (9 stone ish) and at my 6 week check both times had gained a solid 3 stone.

First pregnancy I'd eaten what I wanted as I assumed the weight would fall of breastfeeding. It did not fall. I had to try very very hard to lose it. Second pregnancy tried very hard not to gain as much and gained even more! Same thing had to try hard to lose it, took a year.

Not sure there's much I could have done differently though. My female relatives are all same, gain a lot of fat in pregnancy.

I gained 21% of my body weight with my first. Currently 33+6 and have gained 17% so far. (Started out heavier this time.) Both are above the NHS recommended 12.5kg. And with both I had/have people commenting on how "neat" my bump was/is or that they expected me to look bigger overall. I don't think the 'expected' one-size-fits-all approach for every body shape, size, height, ethnicity, etc. is very useful.

They weighed me at the booking appointment and then never again but I definitely put on a fair bit of weight. However you don’t know how much is amniotic fluid, the baby etc. anyway it’s not like you can go on a diet now so just try and eat as healthily as you can for baby and keep moving if possible. I found the last trimester really difficult as I couldn’t walk more than a few meters without desperately needing a wee. Trust me you won’t have time to eat when the baby arrives so that makes it a lot easier 😅

With my first I put on 5 stone and I was only 11 stone to start with, I lost 2 stone by the following morning after the birth but he was 10lb and I was full of water. With my second I didn’t put anything on at all til I was 6 months and after that very little but after I had my second the next day I somehow had lost less weight than the baby I birthed- make that make sense.
with the third I put on a good 4 stone, baby and waters were both around 97th centile and again lost loads by the following morning. I didn’t eat for 2 and I can’t say I was hugely hungry with any of them. Too full of baby to eat much. I honestly don’t think there’s a lot you can do, if you’re going to put on weight then you will. I don’t know if the sex of the baby changed things as it seems too much of a coincidence that I put on a ridiculous amount with my boys but not with my girl.

I only put on 12lb. Think it was due to nausea, slightly too obsessive exercise and the position of baby making food sit in my stomach for ages.

If you were a healthy weight to start with that’s a big help.