Pregnancy and weight gain are two terms that go hand in hand in most cases. Gaining weight depends on the metabolism rate of the pregnant women, some women gain a couple of pounds, some gain as high as 30 pounds while there are a handful of lucky pregnant women who gain absolutely no extra pounds during pregnancy. The key is to increase the amount of calorie intake and not necessarily eat for two people, now that you are pregnant. On average, a pregnant woman requires an additional 300 calories than what she needed before being pregnant.

For most normal-weight pregnant women, the right amount of calories is: About 1,800 calories per day during the first trimester. About 2,200 calories per day during the second trimester. About 2,400 calories per day during the third trimester.

First Trimester

● A pregnant woman should gain an average of 2 to 4 pounds during the first trimester provided she is pregnant with one baby.

● In case she is expecting twins, the weight gain during the first trimester will be around 5 to 6 pounds.

Second Trimester and Third Trimester

• The second and third trimester calls for a more steady weight gain of around 1 pound every week in pregnant women till she delivers her baby.
• For women who are pregnant and have a higher BMI (body-mass index), they must measure their weight gain and try to limit it within a range of about 1⁄2 pound per week.
• For a pregnant woman with twins, she will likely gain around 37 to 57 pounds throughout her second and third trimester, till she delivers the babies.

Conclusion

Gaining weight during pregnancy is very normal and natural. The trick here is to eat healthy and balanced food not only for the baby but also for the mother to remain fit. Pregnant women gain weight according to their body’s build-up, women with slow metabolism are likely to gain more weight compared to women who have a faster metabolism. It also depends on the number of babies one carries.