Many women complain that during pregnancy, they feel more fat than pregnant. However, pregnancy is not a time to diet and there are targets for healthy weight gain through the months you are expecting.
Some women, however, if they are low-weight before they get pregnant, can put their pregnancy at risk if they do not put on enough pounds when they are expecting.
Why is weight gain important?
Not putting on enough weight during pregnancy is usually a problem for women who were underweight before they got pregnant. It is not necessarily true for most low-weight women, but some do struggle and it is important that those women monitor their weight to make sure they are making good progress.
Lack of good weight gain can result in the baby being born low-weight or prematurely. Both conditions can carry short- and long-term health implications for your child.
Putting on weight in pregnancy
Whilst you probably won't want to rush for multi-packs of crisps to put on weight during pregnancy, meaningful calories packed with good nutrients can really help.
Adding more dairy products like cheese and full-fat yoghurts to your daily regime will help you also take in much-needed calcium. If you usually drink skimmed milk, try switching to full-fat (or semi-skimmed if you find the difference in taste too much for you), when you're eating cereals, cooking, and in your hot drinks.
If you find you don't like eating too much in one sitting, make sure you keep snacks with you through the day. If you're not allergic to them, try eating mixed nuts as these have many great nutrients but are too often overlooked by women trying to avoid calories.
Try to avoid 'diet' foods - which often have additives which are inadvisable in pregnancy anyway.
Reach for bananas and avocados, enjoy tasty oil dressings on salads and pasta, and try to keep your diet varied.
If you are suffering with mild or severe morning sickness, you may be concerned that your aversion to food is harming your baby. In the short term you should be fine, but if your nausea affects your diet for a prolonged period, talk to your doctor to make sure you and your baby are getting enough nutritionally.
