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How excess weight affects pregnancy, how to deal with excess weight
Being overweight during pregnancy harms both the mother and the baby. It increases blood pressure, the risk of miscarriage and premature birth, and weakens labor. Therefore, while carrying a baby, the weight must be controlled.
How to deal with excess weight during pregnancy?
During pregnancy, a woman will inevitably gain weight, but this phenomenon has its limits. An increase of 9-13 kg is considered optimal, but with multiple pregnancies, this figure increases. Part falls on the weight of the child, part on the amniotic fluid. The volume of blood in the mother’s body also increases, as well as the volume of adipose tissue, which is designed to protect the fetus from external mechanical influences.
Being overweight during pregnancy is a reason to reconsider your diet.
But if the increase is very fast, you need to take action.
- Strict diets during pregnancy are excluded. You need to adhere to the principles of proper nutrition. This means a compulsory breakfast, lean meat, cereals, a large amount of vegetables and fruits, refusal of fast food, carbonated drinks and fast carbohydrates – sweets and pastries. For dinner, it is preferable to choose protein – cottage cheese or meat. To make meat dishes better digested, they are supplemented with vegetable salad.
- Can a pregnant woman arrange fasting days? Only in consultation with your doctor. This will help flush excess water out of the body. A fasting day does not imply a hunger strike – you can use cottage cheese or kefir in small portions.
- If a pregnant woman does not have edema, she should drink a lot, at least one and a half liters of clean water per day. If you still have swelling, you need, firstly, to limit the amount of salty foods, and secondly, discuss with your doctor how much fluid you can consume during the day.
- The recommendation to eat for two during pregnancy is wrong. The diet should be balanced, but it is better to eat in small portions every 2-3 hours.
Often, pregnant women have excellent appetite. This is great, but it is better to have fruits and vegetables on hand for a snack than rolls and cakes.
It will be useful to keep a diary and record the weekly increase in it, noting also the amount of water drunk. Considering how excess weight affects pregnancy – it gives an additional load on the spine, leads to diabetes in pregnant women, complicates the postpartum period – it becomes obvious the need to keep weight gain under control.