Weight Gain During Pregnancy

Weight gain during pregnancy varies from woman to woman. it also depends on body type. Talk with your healthcare provider about the amount of weight gain that's best for you. Also talk with your provider about diet and exercise during pregnancy.

Recommendations for pregnancy weight gain by BMI

The information in the chart below comes from the Institute of Medicine.

Prepregnancy BMI	BMI	Total gain range	Rate of gain in 2nd and 3rd trimester
Underweight	less than 18.5	28-40 lbs	1 (1-1.3) lbs/week
Normal Weight	18.5-24.9	25-35 lbs	1 (0.8-1) lbs/week
Overweight	25.0-29.9	15-25 lbs	0.6 (0.5-0.7) lbs/week
Obese	greater than 30.0	11-20 lbs	0.5 (0.4-0.6) lbs/week

In most cases, total weight gain at the end of pregnancy is estimate below. The information comes from the March of Dimes.

Baby	7.5 pounds
Maternal energy stores (fat, protein, and other nutrients)	7 pounds
Fluid volume	4 pounds
Breast enlargement	2 pounds
Uterus	2 pounds
Amniotic fluid	2 pounds
Placenta	1.5 pounds
Blood	4 pounds