Weight gain during pregnancy is natural. However, excessive obesity threatens the expectant mother and child with a number of health complications. In order for the pregnancy to proceed favorably, giving only pleasure to the expectant mother, it is necessary to control weight gain and, in the absence of any contraindications, lead an active lifestyle.
Overweight during pregnancy
The most common cause of significant weight gain during pregnancy is overeating. Hormonal changes occurring in the body of the expectant mother lead to an increase in appetite, and a systematic violation of the diet leads to a malfunction of the hypothalamus, which controls the need for saturation. This can lead to uncontrolled overeating, which not only does not benefit the mother and baby, but also can be harmful to health.
Despite the widespread belief that a pregnant woman should eat for two, a growing fetus only needs 300 extra kilocalories, especially since energy consumption is reduced during pregnancy. The expectant mother experiences drowsiness, various ailments, and more and more often she wants to lie down and rest. The unused calories are converted to body fat.
The optimal weight gain during pregnancy ranges from 9-15 kg. Moreover, if a woman already suffers from excess weight, the permissible gain is 10 kg, and with established obesity, even less - 6 kg. An alarming signal is a weekly weight gain of more than 1 kg. This indicator can indicate both unwanted body fat and the accumulation of excess fluid in the body. In total, during the normal course of pregnancy, a woman gains about 1.5 kg during the first trimester, about 5 kg in the second, and about 4 kg in the third. Although, of course, weight is a purely individual indicator. In addition, there are special risk groups for which the usual measures are not applied. These include women with severe obesity or, conversely, significant underweight, young girls and women carrying multiple pregnancies. The calculation of calories for these categories is carried out only by an obstetrician-gynecologist who leads the pregnancy, when assessing all health indicators.
What threatens a large weight gain during pregnancy
Excess weight puts additional stress on the cardiovascular and nervous system of the mother, which already work in an enhanced mode. The spine and internal organs also suffer. Uncontrolled weight gain threatens the expectant mother with the development of diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, varicose veins, and late toxicosis. There is also a threat of miscarriage or premature birth. Obesity is one of the indicators for performing a cesarean section, in which complications may also develop in the form of large blood loss, infections of the urinary and genital tract, and complicated postpartum rehabilitation. With excessive obesity, premature rupture of amniotic fluid may occur. In obese women, the birth of large children with a body weight exceeding 4 kg is observed.
For the child, the overweight of the mother also does not go unnoticed. The fetus experiences oxygen starvation and nutritional deficiencies, and the risk of developing neurological diseases, including convulsive syndrome, heart disease, and other pathologies, increases. Due to the significant amount of fat during pregnancy, it becomes difficult to diagnose the condition and development of the baby.
