Check your weight: Are you weighing right?

Weight gain is one of the most obvious signs of pregnancy. It is also one of the methods that is used clinically to monitor the growth and progression of pregnancy. Though some women have shown trends of losing weight during pregnancy, the ideal pattern is weight increase as the pregnancy progresses.

THE amount and composition of weight gained in pregnancy can be a major determinant of the need for extra energy and other nutrients in the body. It also determines the birth weight of the baby. If you had a low pre-pregnancy weight, you gain proportionately more than a woman who had higher pre-pregnancy weight.

Weight gain in pregnancy is important for monitoring the growth of the pregnancy and that of the infant. The weight gained during a pregnancy is also a pre-determining factor on the size of the placenta—which is a major determinant of the amount of nutrients that will be available to the growing foetus and at the end. the baby’s birth weight. The least amount of weight that a woman should gain during pregnancy is 6kgs for over weight women, and the maximum should be 18kgs for the underweight woman.

COMPOSITION OF WEIGHT GAINED
Most of the weight gained during pregnancy is composed of water, increased blood volume, increased body fluids, fats and proteins. This shows that all the nutrients are important during pregnancy to help a woman gain the recommended weight.

The body distribution pattern of the weight gained shows increased accumulation of adipose tissues. In mid-pregnancy, there is increased accumulation of fats around the abdomen sub scapular and upper thighs. The growing foetus accounts for a quarter of the total weight gained.

The weight gained during pregnancy is not only important for the pregnancy period but also for reserves that are used during the final periods and during lactation. Nutrient reserves, which partly account for weight gained in early pregnancy, are used to meet the increased foetus’s needs in the last trimester: and for lactation during the early breastfeeding periods as the mother recuperates from the rigours of childbirth.

The weight gained helps the pregnant mother to cope with fluctuating supply of nutrients to the body and to the infant as her food intake is affected by pregnancy.

IMPORTANT NUTRIENTS IN WEIGHT GAIN
All nutrients are important to help a pregnant woman gain the recommended weight. However, of particular importance is the increased need for energy. This goes hand in hand with increased calorie requirements—especially during the second and the third trimester when most of the weight gain takes place. This is the period when there is increased growth of the infant, enlargement of the breasts and the rise in the body’s metabolism process.

Apart from taking a balanced diet, a pregnant woman can ensure that their weight increases at the right rate through various means including:

The consumption of energy dense foods and limiting low calorie food or enriching them.

– Take small but frequent meals and ensure that there is no skipping of meals.
– It is important that a pregnant woman takes whole grains cereals since they are dense in calories and contain Vitamin B.
– Regular moderate exercises in order to stimulate the appetite and build up the body’s muscles.

Too much weight or too little is not good for the baby.

Did you know that women who maintain a normal healthy weight, before, during, and after pregnancy have better outcomes?

Women of reproductive age are more often than not bombarded with messages about diet, weight and body image. There is growing concern about obesity pandemic. On the other hand, a culture that promotes ‘size zero* as desirable— irrespective of a woman’s natural build.

However, pregnancy is one of the most nutritionally demanding periods in a woman’s life: with adequate supply of nutrients required to support foetal well being and growth.

According to the British Medical journal, at least half of all pregnancies are normally unplanned. Therefore, it is important for women to be aware of the implications of their weight on pregnancy, birth and the health of their babies.

The journal indicates that currently, over one billion adults globally are overweight. Out of these, more than 300 million are clinically obese.

Recent research further links Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD)—like symptoms, among children of school going age the fact that their mothers were overweight when they became pregnant. The researchers from Sweden’s Upssala University show the relationship between the mother’s body mass index (BMI) at the time she becomes pregnant and symptoms like hyperactivity and concentration problems in her child.

Worryingly, the correlation between the mother’s BMI and the child’s symptoms was found, not only in those cases where the mother suffered from pronounced obesity, but also in cases where the women were moderately overweight.

Expectant mothers who were already overweight and gained additional weight, during the course of the pregnancy ran a greater risk of having children who would later show signs of ADHD than women of normal weight who experienced the same weight gain during pregnancy.

One possible explanation for this is that the risk of complications during pregnancy is greater among overweight women. The foetus can also be affected by stress hormones from the mother. or environmental toxins that are stored in the mother’s fatty tissue.

Most women wish to give their babies the best start in life. This powerful motivation could be used to achieve behavioural changes to maintain a healthy balanced diet and stable weight within the normal range for the woman’s build. This will offer long-term health benefits for women and their babies.

END:PG15/12-13