How much weight should I gain during pregnancy?
Weight gain depends in part on your body mass index (BMI) before pregnancy. During your first 12 weeks—the first trimester—you may gain only 1 to 5 pounds or no weight at all. In your second and third trimesters, if you were a healthy weight before pregnancy, you should gain between half a pound and 1 pound per week.
For women who were a healthy weight when they got pregnant, the key to healthy weight gain is to slowly increase your calories. In the first trimester, when weight gain is minimal, usually no extra calories are needed. In the second trimester, you need an extra 340 calories a day, and in the third trimester, about 450 extra calories a day.
Read Nutrition During Pregnancy to learn more.
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GoPublished: August 2021
Last reviewed: August 2021
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