Pregnancy Weight Gain

This post is about pregnancy weight gain because I know many women are very interested, if not concerned about this aspect of pregnancy.

(Scroll down for charts and pictures).

I’ve never been too concerned about my weight – most probably because I have never had any issues with it. I’ve always eaten healthy, stayed away from sugared drinks and sugar loaded snacks and fast food (which I don’t like anyway) but never did any diets. Also I’ve always exercised. Other than that I enjoy life (I enjoy exercise too!).

Here’s what my favorite pregnancy book Pregnancy Day By Day tells me about pregnancy weight gain:

Over the 40 weeks of pregnancy, you are likely to gain very little weight in the first trimester and then experience a steady weight gain of around 1,5 – 2 pounds a week. In the final few weeks of pregnancy, it’s normal to gain a few more pounds. The amount you gain will depend on many individual factors. Where weight is gained can also differ from woman to woman.

The weight you gain during pregnancy is a combination of your baby and her support system, the increased size of your breasts and uterus, essential fat reserves, and additional body fluids and blood.

Here are the components of pregnancy weight gain:

• larger breasts – 1 pounds
• water retention – 5,5 pounds
• increased blood + fluid – 3 pounds
• maternal fat – 5,5 pounds
• amniotic fluid – 2 pounds
• placenta – 1,5 pounds
• larger uterus – 2 pounds
• baby – 7-9 pounds

TOTAL: 26,5 – 28,5 pounds

Here’s my pregnancy weight gain chart:

Pregnancy Weight Gain Chart

As you can see I gained 22 pounds (or 10 kg) throughout my pregnancy and while I was steadily gaining weight until week 26, I then lost a few kilos and afterwards I pretty much stayed at the same weight level. My belly however did grow steadily which you can see in my article “Growing Pregnant Belly Week By Week”.

To give you a visual I am also attaching a picture of me before I fell pregnant and in my 39th week of pregnancy.

HOW MUCH WEIGHT DID YOU GAIN DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? PLEASE SHARE IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW 🙂

You might also like:

The Perfect Pregnancy Workout

Exercise and Pregnancy – Friends or Foes?

Belly Dancing For Labor

Growing Pregnant Belly Week By Week