Average Pregnancy Weight Gain: How Much is Too Much?

When a baby bump grows, the mother often grows with it. On the strength of the logic of eating for two, many a mother has used this as license to eat indiscriminately. Associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Fahimeh Sasan, calls this a global cultural phenomenon where pregnant women should have carte blanche on eating whatever they should want.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a survey of 46 states in the US showed that around 50 percent of new mothers gained more weight than recommended during pregnancy. Dr Margaret Dow of the Mayo Clinic says of this trend: "We've all heard that you need lots of extra nutrition when you're pregnant. That's partially true, only more along the lines of eating like a professional athlete than eating like a high-school wrestler."

While every pregnancy is different for every woman, as Dr Dow attested, the Institute of Medicine advises a 25 to 35-pound average pregnancy weight gain for women with normal BMIs, 28 to 40-pound weight gain for women with below normal BMIs, 15 to 25-pound weight gain for overweight mothers and only 20 pounds or less for women with obesity.

These precautionary guidelines toward a normal pregnancy weight gain take into consideration that a mother's unhealthy pregnancy weight may increase the baby's risk for such health problems as diabetes and obesity later on. Caesarian section, pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes are among the health problems that may be imposed upon both mother and baby more immediately.

Still, when mothers gain more weight than expected, they sometimes experience stress from family, friends and the public. This kind of change is especially difficult with the shine of limelight, take as example Kim Kardashian's pregnancy weight gain, which was at 52 pounds. Celebrity pregnancy weight gain also brought the heat onto other stars such as Kate Hudson, who gained 70 pounds during her first pregnancy, Mariah Carey, who also gained 70 pounds, Jessica Simpson, who gained 50 pounds and Hayden Panettiere, who gained 40 pounds.

Dr Sasan recommends that pregnant women maintain good communication with the OB-Gynaecologists especially about public stress concerning their weight. "Pregnancy is a time when women really do think beyond themselves and their focus becomes about the health of the baby. Once we have the conversation about the risks of weight gain, they feel empowered and don't listen to all the chatter as much."