Body Fat Scale Safety & Pregnancy

by Jules Stark

Overview

Weight gain is critical and inevitable during pregnancy. It is very important to gain and maintain a certain amount of weight during pregnancy to ensure the health of your baby and yourself. See your doctor to find out the amount of weight gain that is appropriate for you.
Guidelines

Doctors suggest following a set of guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy according to your body mass index (BMI), which you can calculate using your height and weight. If you are obese, expect to gain between 11 and 20 pounds; if you are overweight, expect 15 to 25 pounds; if you are at a normal weight, 25 to 35 pounds; and if you're underweight, anywhere from 28 to 40 pounds is appropriate.

Twins or More

If you are having twins, triplets or more, you should expect to gain more weight than average.
Underweight Precautions

It is absolutely necessary to gain a good amount of weight during pregnancy if you are underweight. Babies are more likely to be born smaller or premature in underweight women.
Overweight Precautions

If you are overweight, you should not try to lose weight during pregnancy. Doctors advise that you still gain the recommended amount of weight.
When to Gain

During the first trimester, you do not need to gain much weight. It is most important to gain weight steadily in the second and third trimesters. You should be able to do this by eating an extra 300 calories or so a day---more if you are underweight.