Weight gain in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy | Weight gain during pregnancy

Weight gain in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy

During the last 12 weeks of pregnancy one speaks of the third trimester. The last third of pregnancy begins with the 29th and ends with the 40th week of pregnancy. In the event of a possible transfer of the child, the last third of pregnancy can even extend to the 42nd week of pregnancy.

During this period, the unborn child should continue to increase significantly in size and weight. In addition to the growth of the child, the typical ravenous hunger attacks also have an effect on weight gain during pregnancy. Especially during the last trimester of pregnancy the weekly weight gain can therefore be very strong.

For a woman of normal weight, it can be assumed that a weight gain of about 500 grams per week is normal. In women who had a Body Mass Index of less than 18.5 before the beginning of pregnancy, there may even be a weekly weight gain of up to 600 grams in the last period of pregnancy. Overweight women should also keep an eye on their weight gain during the last trimester of pregnancy and should not gain more than 400 to 500 grams per week. While the weight gain in the first third of the pregnancy is usually still very low and increases steadily in the second trimester, it reaches its maximum in the last 12 weeks. For a woman of normal weight, it can be assumed that the weight gain in this part of the pregnancy is approximately 4 to 6 kilograms.

Weight after pregnancy

Many women do not reach their ideal weight even weeks after giving birth. This is usually quite normal and is due, among other things, to water retention, growth of the uterus and the storage of fat reserves e.g. for breastfeeding. You can read about how to lose weight effectively after pregnancy in the following article: Losing weight after pregnancy

Summary

In general, it can be assumed that underweight women should gain between 12.7 and 18.1 kilograms during pregnancy. This value corresponds to a weekly weight gain of approximately 0.5 kilograms. Normal-weight women with a body mass index that was between 18.5 and 24.9 before pregnancy should ideally gain about 11.3 to 15.9 kilograms.

During pregnancy, this indicative value also corresponds to a weekly weight gain of approximately 0.5 kilograms. For slightly overweight expectant mothers, with a body mass index between 25 and 29.9 before the start of pregnancy, the weight gain must be controlled particularly closely. A total weight gain of 6.8 to 11.3 kilograms is considered normal for these women.

For this reason, care should be taken to ensure that no more than 0.27 kilograms are gained per week. Strongly overweight women, on the other hand, must pay particular attention to a healthy and balanced diet and sufficient exercise during pregnancy. From a body mass index of over 30, the weight gain during pregnancy should not exceed a maximum of 9 kilograms.

Especially slim women often react in a shock when they hear that at their initial weight a weight gain of 10 to 15 kilograms during the entire pregnancy is perfectly normal and harmless.In this context, however, it must be noted that weight gain during pregnancy is by no means a pure fat mass. With a weight gain of about 14 kilograms, the mass increase of the uterus is about 1.5 kilograms. By the increase of the individual blood corpuscles and the associated increase of the blood volume the becoming mother increases further 2,0 kilograms.

At the end of the pregnancy, the amniotic fluid weighs approximately 1.0 to 1.5 kilograms. Due to the enormous growth of the breasts, weight gain usually increases by another 0.5 kilograms. Above all, fluid retention (approximately 3.0 kilograms) and the placenta (0.5 kilograms) make a significant contribution to the overall weight gain during pregnancy. And last but not least, the baby will also weigh some 3.0 to 3.5 kilograms at the time of birth.