Pregnancy Weight Gain Calculator

The Pregnancy Weight Gain Calculator charts healthy weight gain during pregnancy using recommendations from the Institute of Medicine.

Recommended weight gain during pregnancy

During pregnancy, women experience significant changes in their bodies and daily activities. One of them is increased body weight, which is necessary to ensure that the developing fetus receives sufficient nutrients. This ensures the mother keeps sufficient nutrients to prepare for breastfeeding.

Gaining weight during pregnancy is ordinary and necessary. The studies of specific body mass index (BMI) have shown that particular weight gain ranges produce more positive outcomes in both mother and fetus¹.

Generally, it is recommended that pregnant women gain only 1-4 pounds for the first 3 months of pregnancy and 1 pound per week for the remainder of the pregnancy. You can gain 1 pound a week by consuming ~ 300 extra calories daily². This is roughly equivalent to eating one baked potato with two ounces of meat and one apple. Or eating an extra sandwich and drinking a glass of milk.

The following table recommends weight increase during pregnancy provided by the Institute of Medicine. It is based on a woman's body mass index before pregnancy.

Recommendations for overall weight increase during pregnancy, based on the individual’s BMI before becoming pregnant¹

Remember that these are only guidelines and each woman’s weight growth rate is unique. Pregnant women need to contact healthcare providers to assess their needs more adequately.

The extra pounds gained during pregnancy are not only due to the baby's growth. Much of this weight is due to the growth of the tissues responsible for preparing the body for feeding and the fetus's growth and development. The list below provides more detailed information.

Distribution of Pregnancy-Related Weight Gain²

Potential Health Risks Associated with Incorrect Weight Increase

There are significant health risks linked to inadequate or excessive weight gain during pregnancy. Gaining too little weight can jeopardize the fetus's development, increasing the risk of low birth weight and associated complications, potentially leading to preterm birth.

On the other hand, gaining too much weight can contribute to gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders, and complications during childbirth, such as an increased chance of requiring a cesarean section (C-section) and delivering a larger-than-average baby. It can also result in prolonged postpartum weight retention. Both extremes of weight gain can adversely affect the health of the mother and the child, underscoring the importance of a balanced and monitored approach to weight during pregnancy.

What to consume when pregnant?

During pregnancy, a woman’s food choices are frequently the subject of heated debate, and disparities occur depending on the culture. What a woman eats and drinks during pregnancy, or chooses not to eat or drink, may substantially affect the child’s health. However, no specific formulas are determined to guarantee the baby’s health.

Parents should be careful with their food choice, although there is no need to adhere rigidly to such recommendations. The standard advice for a balanced diet requires a balanced intake of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, healthy fats, and whole grains. However, some nutrients are especially beneficial for the development and growth of healthy children. We will cover some of them below.

Calcium

Calcium is essential for the healthy daily operation of the muscular, circulatory, and neurological systems. It is also necessary to develop and maintain strong bones and teeth. Cheese, milk, and yogurt are examples of dairy products containing calcium. Besides dairy products, it is also present in not dairy-based foods, including salmon, spinach, kale, and broccoli.

Folic acid and folate

Folic acids are a synthetic version of vitamin B called folate. These are valuable materials, reducing the risk of birth abnormalities. Studies have proven that folate reduces the risk of premature birth. Folate protects against neural tube defects and possible spinal cord and brain anomalies. It also supports the healthy development of the brain and spinal cord.

You can get folic acid by taking supplements or eating foods fortified with it. You can consume folic acid with citrus fruits (including oranges), certain leafy green vegetables (such as spinach), dried peas and beans, and taking folic acid tablets.

Protein

During pregnancy, protein is essential for your health. Lean meat, chicken, eggs, fish, beans, almonds, peas, and items made from soy, are excellent protein sources.

Iron

Iron is essential for the development and growth of your child. This is because of its functionality in blood production within the body, which helps provide the developing baby with oxygen. A pregnant woman should consume double the usual amount of iron.

Suppose the woman does not get the recommended amount of iron in her diet. In that case, she risks developing iron-deficiency anemia, making her feel exhausted and raising the probability that her baby will be born prematurely. Besides beans and vegetables fortified with iron, other foods include lean red meat, chicken, and fish.

Combining plant-based iron sources with meals or beverages that contain a significant quantity of vitamin C may boost the body’s ability to absorb iron. This is because iron from animal products is most readily absorbed when combined with vitamin C.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D, like calcium, may help strengthen bones while contributing to infants' developing teeth and bones. Besides other meals, you may get it in foods like fortified milk, orange juice, salmon, and eggs.

The vast majority of the nutrients described above are available as dietary supplements of various kinds, and the use of prenatal vitamins is rather typical throughout pregnancy. Discussing your eating habits with a qualified medical practitioner would be best. This allows you to determine if you need to take prenatal vitamins or other special supplements.

Meals to avoid

Avoiding certain activities and foods during pregnancy is as vital as ingesting foods that provide particular nutrients. Among the foods that should be avoided are foods with high mercury concentrations, such as various types of seafood. The larger the fish and the longer it has lived, the higher its tendency to have high mercury content.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) strongly recommends that pregnant women refrain from eating swordfish, shark, slab fish, and king mackerel. Relatively risk-free seafood includes salmon, shrimp, catfish, pollock, anchovies, cod, trout, light canned tuna, tilapia, and others.

Pregnant women should also avoid consuming raw, undercooked, and contaminated foods. Examples of these dishes are foods like sashimi, sushi, and raw shellfish, including oysters, clams, and scallops. Similarly, pregnant women should stay away from poultry, eggs, and meat served raw. Bacteria found in the abovementioned foods pose a more significant threat of food poisoning to the developing baby.

Experts also recommend avoiding meals that have not been pasteurized, since they may cause diseases associated with contaminated water or food ingestion. This includes many dairy products.

Some sprouts may contain germs implicated as causative agents (bacteria) of illnesses. These include clover, alfalfa, mung bean, and radish; hence, they must be thoroughly cooked before consumption rather than eaten raw. It is also essential to avoid consuming excessive caffeine because the potential to transit the mother’s placenta and its consequences on the developing child are not fully understood. As for herbal teas, not much research has been done on them, so their effects during pregnancy are still unknown.

Pregnant women should never drink alcohol under any circumstances. No research has established the amount of alcohol considered safe to ingest when a woman carries a child. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy raises the probability that the pregnancy will end in a stillbirth. It is also a cause of fetal alcohol syndrome, which may lead to intellectual abnormality development and facial deformities.

It is best to abstain from smoking before, during, and after pregnancy because smoking harms both mother and child. This habit may also lead to several adverse health consequences, including preterm delivery, the death of the fetus, the need for a cesarean section (implicated in hemorrhaging of the mother), and other complications.

Studies have also shown the potential for increased chances of sudden infant death syndrome, other birth anomalies like altered brain stem development and lung anatomy, and cerebral palsy related to smoking.

Studies have shown the potential for tobacco to raise the child’s probability of becoming fat during the teenage years. Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of a kid being fat as a teenager, and obesity has several negative consequences for mortality and morbidity.

This list does not comprise all the foods women should avoid eating while pregnant. Following these parameters gives your child a better chance of being healthy. If you have questions on this topic, it is best to speak with a qualified medical expert.

1. Mayo Clinic. "Pregnancy weight gain: What's healthy?"