You’re pregnant and believe, for example, that you have to eat twice your normal amount of food, that weight gain will make pregnancy difficult, or that pregnancy will make you incredibly hungry… However, some of these beliefs are incorrect and others are true. How can you tell which is which?
Fact
- Obesity weakens the possibility of getting pregnant because it negatively affects the hormone balance and the regularity of the menstrual cycle.
- Pre-pregnancy weight gain increases the possibility of a miscarriage and problems like high blood pressure and gestational diabetes. It also makes natural childbirth very difficult.
- If you are pregnant, you’re hungry more often than you were before pregnancy. That’s true. The reason is that certain hormones increase your appetite.
- The normal weight gain for pregnant women varies and follows their BMI. Women with a BMI between 19 and 22 can gain up to 20 kilograms at most. For a range between 22 and 23, the appropriate weight gain is only 12 kilograms. And it should not exceed 10 kilograms if the BMI is 24. It’s necessary to follow up with the doctor in order to maintain a healthy weight as much as possible.
Fiction
- You have to eat enough food for two people during pregnancy. Give up this belief; it’s a misconception. It’s best to adopt a balanced diet, especially one that contains fruits, vegetables, milk products, well-cooked meat, fish, and whole grains. Try to avoid foods full of sugar and fat.
- During pregnancy, you gain one kilogram per month. This is not true. In the first trimester, you don’t gain much weight. You may even lose a few kilograms. In the second trimester, weight gain accelerates because you’re often hungry. It’s best not to gain more than 6 kilograms in your sixth month of pregnancy. In the last trimester, you may gain 1.5 kilograms a month. That’s normal, but it’s important to be careful in the last 2 weeks.
- You can go on a weight-loss diet. This is a mistake. Dieting may cause you to have a deficiency of essential nutrients. If you notice that your weight has increased dramatically, don’t do anything without consulting your doctor.
