Why is maternal weight gain important?

In this video, a midwife discusses where the extra weight in pregnancy comes from.

Table of Contents Show

Is weight gain important during pregnancy?
How can you track your weight gain during pregnancy?
Where do you gain the weight during pregnancy?

It’s best to start pregnancy at a healthy weight. Talk to your provider to find out a healthy weight for you before you get pregnant.
Gaining too much or too little weight during pregnancy can be harmful to you and your baby.
Don’t ever try to lose weight during pregnancy.
You only need about 300 extra calories a day during pregnancy to support your baby’s growth and development.

Is weight gain important during pregnancy?

Yes. Gaining the right amount of weight during pregnancy can help protect your health and the health of your baby.

If you gain too little weight during pregnancy, you’re more likely than other women to:

Have a premature baby. A premature baby is born too early, before 37 weeks of pregnancy.
Have a baby with low birthweight. Low birthweight means your baby is born weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces.

If you gain too much weight during pregnancy, you’re more likely than other women to:

Have a premature baby. Premature babies may have health problems at birth and later in life, including being overweight or obese. Being obese means you have an excess amount of body fat.
Have a baby with fetal macrosomia. This is when your baby is born weighing more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces. Having a baby this large can cause complications, like problems during labor and heavy bleeding after birth.
Need a cesarean birth (also called c-section). Your baby is born through a cut that your health care provider makes in your belly and your uterus in this surgery.
Have trouble losing weight after your baby’s birth. This can increase your risk for health conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure.

Your health care provider uses your body mass index (also called BMI) before pregnancy to figure out how much weight you should gain during pregnancy. BMI is a measure of body fat based on your height and weight. To find out your BMI, go to www.cdc.gov/bmi.

If you’re pregnant with one baby or twins, use the following chart to find your recommended weight gain based on your BMI before pregnancy. If you’re pregnant with triplets or more, talk to your provider about the amount of weight you should gain during pregnancy.

If you’re overweight or obese and are gaining less than the recommended amounts, talk to your provider. If your baby is still growing well, your weight gain may be fine.

Gaining weight slowly and steadily is best. Don't worry too much if you don’t gain any weight in the first trimester, or if you gain a little more or a little less than you think you should in any week. You may have some growth spurts—this is when you gain several pounds in a short time and then level off. Don’t ever try to lose weight during pregnancy.

If you’re worried about your weight gain, talk to your health care provider.

How can you track your weight gain during pregnancy?

Your provider checks your weight at each prenatal care visit. Use our weight-gain tracking chart to track your weight yourself.

Where do you gain the weight during pregnancy?

You know that your growing baby makes up part of the weight you’re gaining. But what about the rest? Here’s a general idea:

Baby = 7.5 pounds
Amniotic fluid = 2 pounds. Amniotic fluid surrounds the baby in the womb.
Blood = 4 pounds
Body fluids = 3 pounds
Breasts = 2 pounds
Fat, protein and other nutrients = 6 to 8 pounds
Placenta = 1.5 pounds. The placenta grows in your uterus and supplies the baby with food and oxygen through the umbilical cord.
Uterus = 2 pounds. The uterus is the place inside you where your baby grows.

Last reviewed: September 2020

Weight is an important part of your health and wellbeing during pregnancy.

Weight gain during pregnancy

The amount of weight you gain during pregnancy can affect your own health as well as your baby’s health and development. But how much should you gain?

The recommended amount of weight gain depends on your pre-pregnancy weight. The recommendations below are a guide only: there are circumstances where a different weight goal may be recommended by your midwife, doctor or dietitian.

Pre-pregnancy BMI	Recommended weight gain over the whole pregnancy	Recommended weight gain per month in the 2nd and 3rd trimester *
BMI less than 18.5 (underweight)	12.5kg to 18kg	2kg to 2.6kg
18.5 to 24.9 (healthy weight) 18.5 to 22.9 if Asian	11.5kg to 16kg	1.5kg to 2.3kg
25 to 29.9 (overweight) 23 to 27.5 if Asian	7kg to 11.5kg	1kg to 1.5kg
30 or more or over 27.5 if Asian	5kg to 9kg (less than &kg if Asian)	0.8kg to 1.2kg

* Average gain in the first three months is 1/2 to 2 kilos for everyone.

Factors that can influence how much weight you gain

How and what you eat
How active you are during your pregnancy and how much exercise you do
Pregnancy related symptoms such as nausea (‘morning sickness’)
Changes to your appetite, for example food cravings and aversions
Fluid retention, especially in later pregnancy

How to maintain a healthy weight during pregnancy

Eat regular meals with a good variety of foods. This will help you to:
- include all the nutrients you and your baby need
- regulate your metabolic rate
- avoid getting overly hungry and making poor food choices
Make sure to eat three meals a day – breakfast, lunch and dinner. Add mid meal snack if hungry
Check your portion sizes
Think of some foods as ‘occasional foods’, for example fast foods, potato chips, chocolate, biscuits, cakes, etc.
Limit your intake of sweet drinks such as fruit juice, sports drinks, cordials and soft drinks.
Unless you have complication during your pregnancy participate in regular exercise.

For more information, including tips on food choices and meal planning, download the fact sheet Weight gain during pregnancy

How to monitor your weight gain

Monitoring your weight during pregnancy may help you understand if you are gaining too much or too little weight, and when to seek help if needed. If you would like to track your weight gain over the course of your pregnancy click on the link Weight Gain During Pregnancy below to access the worksheets .

There are four worksheets to choose from based on your pre-pregnancy BMI (body mass index).

BMI less than 18.5
BMI 18.5 to 24 (18.5 to 22.9 if you are Asian)
BMI 25 to 29 (23 to 27.5 if you are Asian)
BMI 30 and above (27.5 and above if you are Asian)

To calculate your BMI, take your pre-pregnancy weight in kilos divided by your height in meters squared. For example; if your pre-pregnancy weight is 72 kg and your height is 162 centimetres (1.62 meters), to work out your BMI, divide your weight by your height then divide again by height, i.e. 72 ÷ 1.62 ÷ 1.62 = 27.

Your BMI is 27, therefore download Weight gain worksheet: BMI 25 to 29

The Women’s does not accept any liability to any person for the information or advice (or use of such information or advice) which is provided on the Website or incorporated into it by reference. The Women’s provide this information on the understanding that all persons accessing it take responsibility for assessing its relevance and accuracy. Women are encouraged to discuss their health needs with a health practitioner. If you have concerns about your health, you should seek advice from your health care provider or if you require urgent care you should go to the nearest Emergency Dept.

Gestational weight gain is a strong predictor of short- and long-term health outcomes for both childbearing women and their offspring. Epidemiologic studies have found that higher maternal gestational weight gains are associated with abnormalities in maternal prenatal glycemia, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and delivery complications, along with an increased risk of postpartum weight retention, incident obesity and adverse cardiometabolic sequelae in mothers by midlife. Additionally, observational data have linked greater gestational weight gains to increased fetal growth and later childhood obesity. Associations of gestational weight gain with preterm birth and infant mortality may be U-shaped, such that the risks are increased with both low and high gains. In an attempt to optimize both maternal and child outcomes, the Institute of Medicine revised gestational weight gain guidelines in 2009, recommending smaller gains for women with higher prepregnancy body mass indices, particularly for women entering pregnancy with a body mass index of at least 30. However, it is as of yet unclear if these new recommendations will lead to improvements in the proportions of women gaining recommended amounts, and in maternal and child health. As fewer than one third of mothers currently gain within the ranges recommended by the Institute of Medicine, interventions to help mothers achieve healthy gestational weight gains are of critical public health importance.

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