You got pregnant while you were carrying some extra pounds. Here is some of what you need to know now.
- Overweight women run a greater risk of developing certain conditions, such as high blood pressure and gestational diabetes, when they start a pregnancy with extra pounds. The good news is that proper diet and exercise can reduce the risk of pregnancy complications and help manage them, should they occur during your pregnancy.
- Your pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) determines how much weight to gain during pregnancy. Overweight women may be advised to put on fewer pregnancy pounds that women beginning their pregnancy at a healthy weight. Ask your health care provider what’s right for you.
- Research shows that severely overweight women who gained less than 15 pounds during pregnancy reduced their risk of having pregnancy complications and they delivered healthy children.
Learn more about weight gain during pregnancy in chapter 4 of Expect The Best, Your Guide to Healthy Eating Before, During, & After Pregnancy.