Pregnancy Weight Gain -- A weighty issue

One of the essential prerequisites for a healthy baby is an adequate pregnancy weight gain for the mother during her pregnancy. You should get insights into the need for weight gain during pregnancy and explore the link between obesity and pregnancy, if you are planning a baby or have just got the good news.

Need For Weight Gain During Pregnancy

The one time where weight gain among women is actually applauded and encouraged is during pregnancy. Various studies have indicated that babies, which do not receive adequate nourishment while in the womb, tend to be smaller and are prone to cardiac problems later in life. Starvation while in the womb leads to stunted development of various organs including kidneys, pancreas, and liver of the baby. A higher rate of infantile death is also noticed among such babies.

Doctors recommend a pregnancy weight gain of at least 20 pounds for all pregnant women, irrespective of their weight prior to pregnancy. The food eaten by women during pregnancy needs to be chosen with care with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, and other seeds, forming the majority of the diet. Consumption of added fats, sugars, white flour, and refined carbohydrates should be minimal even during the progress of pregnancy week by week.

Pregnancy And Obesity

However there is another problem. If unchecked, pregnancy weight gain in some women may even reach the level of obesity. Many women do not bother about their figure after pregnancy, believing firmly that having a baby leads to losing your once perfect figure, forever. Although, this may be partly true, new moms also need to recognize the link between pregnancy weight gain and pregnancy obesity.

A new mother may have several emotional issues to deal with regarding her newfound status of being a mother. For many women, the incessant pressures and responsibilities that go along with her new role may also lead to overeating, which in turn might cause weight gain, change in her body rhythms and ultimately obesity.

Some women also hold firm the conviction that the weight gained while pregnant is permanent and all attempts to get rid of it would be futile. However, they do not seem to realize that it would only take about a year to overcome the effects of pregnancy weight gain and regain their earlier figure.

Determining of the link between obesity and pregnancy could disclose other health issues apart from obesity. A sudden excessive pregnancy weight gain could be indicative of other factors, such as depression or physical factors such as difficulties faced in the course of pregnancy, ailments of the reproductive system or incontinence.

Conversely, a new mom faces another risk due to her pregnancy weight gain. As her body changes to adapt to her weight gain, the effect may be a further increase in weight gain.

To conclude, although a new mom may consider her body on a lower priority scale when weighed against all her duties and concerns regarding her baby, her responsibility towards herself and a healthy body should not be neglected, as her well being is ultimately her baby well-being too.