New Pregnancy Guidelines: Obese Women Should Gain Less Weight
New guidelines have been issued for pregnant women who are obese (BMI 30+) stating they should only gain 11 to 20lbs during the course of their pregnancy.
The old guidelines, developed in 1990, didn't take into account the difference between "overweight" women (BMI 25-30) and "obese" women (BMI 30+). But, due to a rise in obesity levels in the past two decades, health officials guided by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, felt that the guidelines needed updating.
As the New York Times explains:
About 27 percent of women of childbearing age fall into this category, defined as obese because they have a body mass index of 30 or more (for example, 5 feet 5 inches and at least 180 pounds).
The guidelines for women who are not obese remain unchanged:
- Underweight women (BMI under 18.5) should gain 28 to 40 pounds during pregnancy.
- Healthy-weight women (BMI between 18.5 and 25) should gain 25 to 35 pounds.
- Overweight women (BMI between 25 and 30) should gain 15 to 25 pounds.
Previously, obese women were simply given the same advice as overweight women.
Doctors and health experts often advise women who are trying to get pregnant to get to a healthy weight first. This is because being obese can make it more difficult to conceive, and can cause complications during pregnancy. (Being underweight is also dangerous.)
If you are pregnant and concerned about your weight, see your doctor for advice: don't try to diet on your own.
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Okay, this is real life here. I used to weigh 300 pounds and had 3 children while I was obese. I lost 150 pounds and had 4 more children. The pregnancies as an obese woman were definitely more difficult even though I was younger. The pregnancies at an average weight were easier on my body. Even when I was obese, the doctors never gave me much guidance - just told me to "watch the weight gain!" I watched it go right up! I think it's good that the guidelines are being refined, althought it's still up to the individual doctor and patient as to how much emphasis they put on weight gain.
ReplyI wasn't aware that this was new info. I'd always thought that obese women were supposed to gain less weight during their pregnancies. My sister's friend was very overweight and got pregnant and she actually weighed a few pounds less when she gave birth than she did when she got pregnant because she dramatically improved her eating and exercise habits when she found out she was pregnant. And then you have the Hollywood moms that start out their pregnancies about 20 lbs underweight, so when they get pregnant they gain 60 lbs and it doesn't even look like that much because they were so skinny to start with.
ReplyI had a friend who also lost weight while pregnant. She was very overweight to start, but had morning sickness for the first 12 weeks and couldn't keep a thing down.
ReplyExperts can publish guidelines which is great. However, when I was pregnant I just had to listen to my body. Some days the thought/smell of food made me feel sick. Other days I ate like crazy. Stick with healthy foods and listen to your body were my personal guidelines.
Is this really new? I was just pregnant last year and they told me to gain 25-35 and said overweight women gain 15-25 and obese women gain 15 lb or less.
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