I have many friends who have started families over the last few years and I love to see their small face, see how fast those little people grow and how unique they each are. It makes me realize that YES I do want to me a MOM, I just have to get a few more things in order before I am willing to move into that part of my life.
And I am not a stupid girl. I know that since I am over 30 I will be facing a different set of challenges when attempting to conceive and throughout any pregnancy than those in their 20s, and as such have started a daily multi-vitamin & folic acid regime and (obviously) have been watch my weight and overall health more closely.
Today this appeared in my inbox and it made me really think. Things have certainly changed since my Mom was getting ready for me to arrive:
Pregnancy Weight Gain: New Guidelines
How Much Weight Should Women Gain During Pregnancy? Maybe Less Than You Think
More and more women are now overweight or obese when they get pregnant—leading to greater complications for these moms and their babies. In response, the Institute of Medicine recently released new guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy.
Although no one is advised to lose weight while pregnant, many women are now being told that they shouldn't be gaining more than a few pounds over the entire pregnancy.
May 28, 2009 -- Pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant? Then you need to know about new guidelines on how much weight to gain during pregnancy.
Those new guidelines were issued today by an Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee of doctors, nutrition experts, and public health researchers.
It's the first time the IOM has issued pregnancy weight guidelines since 1990, and in the past 19 years, America's obesity boom has only grown.
But the new guidelines aren't just for women who are overweight before pregnancy. They're for women of all sizes, starting with a prepregnancy checkup that addresses weight, diet, and exercise -- and a discussion about using contraception, too, until overweight or obese women reach a healthy weight.
During pregnancy, many women gain "substantially more than we would like," IOM committee chairwoman Kathleen Rasmussen, ScD, PhD, tells WebMD.
"It is important for women to gain within [the new guidelines] and if possible, it's important for women to begin pregnancy at a good weight," says Rasmussen, who is also a Cornell University nutrition professor.
New Pregnancy Weight Guidelines
Here are the guidelines for pregnancy weight gain, based on a woman's BMI ( body mass index) before becoming pregnant with one baby:
Underweight: Gain 28-40 pounds
Normal weight: Gain 25-35 pounds
Overweight: Gain 15-25 pounds
Obese: Gain 11-20 pounds
For more on the new guidelines, as well as how much protein is recommended for a healthy pregnancy, CLICK HERE
Overdoing Pregnancy Weight Gain
Gaining too much weight during pregnancy may be risky for the mother and the baby.
"The risk for the baby is being born too large, which can result in birth injury for the baby or may result in a cesarean section for the mother," Rasmussen says. "The risks for the mother of gaining beyond the guidelines are risk for cesarean section or risk for excessive weight retention postpartum."
Eating for Two?
Talking with patients about weight and pregnancy can be difficult, says Melissa Goist, MD, clinical assistant professor in the obstetrics-gynecology department of the Ohio State University Medical Center.
Goist says many people aren't aware that there are limits on healthy weight gain during pregnancy.
"I think people still feel like pregnancy is fair game," Goist says. "You only need 300 extra calories per day to actually maintain a pregnancy."
So if you think eating for two means doubling your calories, forget it.
"If you think about the normal diet of maybe 1,800-2,000 calories, depending on the size of the person, 300 extra calories is a sixth of that. So that's barely like eating anything," Goist says.
To Read the Full Article CLICK HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment