At the beginning of each visit to your OB/GYN, you will be weighed. At this time, your doctor will then chart your current weight with the weight you had before you found out you were pregnant. Once he has done this, he will plug the numbers into a pregnancy weight gain calculator.
Knowing What to Expect
Average sized women usually gain up to 35 pounds during the entirety of their pregnancy, but do not worry, this is not all fat. The baby, placenta, enlarged uterus, maternal breast volume, increased blood volume, and the creation of more bodily fluid will account for only 26 pounds.
The women who are underweight will be instructed to gain more weight, and overweight women will be instructed to try and maintain their weight. Women who have difficulty maintaining weight will have a harder time losing it postpartum.
The second trimester is a time of accelerated growth for your baby. A pregnancy weight gain calculator is very helpful in this time. Keeping track of your weight gain will help you stay sane during your emotionally turbulent time. Not only is your baby growing but you are dealing with some serious physical and emotional changes.
One of the most common emotions is frustration; you feel like everything is going out of control around you. During your pregnancy you will outgrow your clothes, feel unattractive, and have little or no interest in sex. When the frustration comes, remember that pregnancy is temporary, and that eventually your body will return to normal, hopefully.
How to Gain Weight Gracefully
A pregnancy weight gain calculator is a tool that you can use to help you stay within healthy weight limits during your pregnancy.
When using a pregnancy weight gain calculator it is important to remember that when the numbers go up, it?s not just you! Pregnancy adds to your weight! You aren?t just carrying the extra weight of your growing baby, you are also toting around the excess weight of the swollen vital tissues, full of blood and water.
Here is the pregnancy weight gain breakdown:
Your baby accounts for about 7 pounds of your burgeoning body. The supporting placenta is about 2 pounds. The amniotic fluid and the uterus are another 4.2 pounds together. The swelling body fluids (blood and extra water) make up 12 pounds. Your enlarged breasts now weigh 4 pounds.
All of these additional products add up to about 29 pounds, and your OB/GYN will use a pregnancy weight gain calculator and will be able to tell you whether or not the actual weight you gain, is healthy.
Now that you know all of the numbers, you don?t have to freak out about your growing body. You can rest assured that the weight you gain during pregnancy is easily disposed of afterward.
Short note about the author
Sophia Ton is a freelance writer who writes about family topics. She loves to shop for baby crib bedding at http://www.beforebaby.com/category/baby-bedding/ and she wrote about pregnancy weight gain calculators at http://www.beforebaby.com/category/pregnancy-weight/.
Author: Sophia Ton