Week 29 New Developments!

New week, new developments. Your baby is now gaining weight. You may be experiencing some weight gain simultaneously. Let’s take a look at this.

MOM-TO-BE:

Pregnancy is a marathon and not a sprint. It requires patience and discipline.

Weight gain during pregnancy is an expected and essential part of pregnancy, but pregnancy is not a free pass for guilt-free unhealthy eating!

The key lies in finding that delicate balance so that pregnancy-related weight gain is within that healthy bracket. Both extremes, too less weight gain or too much weight gain, are both dangerous.

The weight gain during pregnancy has to be carefully balanced! Inadequate weight gain during this crucial phase may jeopardize the health of both the mother and the developing baby.

At the same time, unmonitored weight gain can also similarly expose both the mom-to-be and developing baby to an array of complications. So, this leads us to two important questions:

How much is the ‘just right weight gain’?
Why is too much or too less weight gain during pregnancy a problem?

This is an overwhelming topic and hence we shall just take a bird’s eye view of appropriate weight gain in pregnancy in this article. Shall we?

1. How much weight gain during pregnancy is just right?

The answer to this question needs to be tailor-made to fit you!

What we mean is that appropriate weight gain during your pregnancy would depend on several factors.

Your doctor will help you calculate the appropriate pregnancy weight gain for you, especially weight gain in the third trimester.

Body Mass Index (BMI) is one of the commonly used methods to identify if a person is underweight, normal weight, overweight (BMI 25 to 30 kg/m), or obese (BMI over 30 kg/m).

Your pre-pregnancy BMI is one of the main factors that will guide your doctors’ judgment of what should be the healthy pregnancy weight gain graph for you. Your doctor will also keep in consideration national recommendations regarding pregnancy weight gain.

2. Why is too much weight gain during pregnancy a problem?

Obesity during pregnancy can be the starting point for various complications.

A few possible complications for the mom-to-be would include pregnancy-related hypertension, gestational diabetes, difficulties during labor, etc. Even in the long run, there will always be an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and other complications too.

Obesity during pregnancy may affect the developing baby not just while in the womb, but later on in life too! The baby might have a higher than recommended birth weight, may be at higher risk for childhood obesity, etc.

3. Why is too less weight gain during pregnancy a problem?

Similarly, inadequate weight gain might be one of the indicators of insufficient nutrition for the mother as well as the developing baby. Low birth weight can lead to various problems eventually.

Hence understanding the recommendation of your doctor and maintaining your pregnancy weight gain in keeping with the recommendations is very important.

4. A few tips to help watch your weight gain during pregnancy:

Let’s take a look at few tips to help you with weight gain:

Discuss with your doctor and understand the recommended weight gain that would be optimum for you, especially in this trimester.
Remember that you need to ensure your diet is rich in nutrients, well-balanced, and healthy for you and your developing baby.
Consumption of junk food, greasy, deep-fried food, and refined sugars (food high in glycemic index) can be kept to a minimum or avoided.
Unless medically contraindicated, keeping yourself active is a good idea. But always be cautious to discuss with your doctor the types of exercises that would be safe for you now.
Keenly watch your fluid intake.
The weight tracker and water intake tracker in your ‘We care App’ might help you to stay on track with your doctor’s recommendations.
A sudden increase in weight, swelling around the ankles, puffiness in the face, and increased blood pressure must be brought to your doctor’s notice immediately.

Symptoms you might have other than weight gain during pregnancy:

Some symptoms you may experience this week include:

Difficulty in falling asleep:
You might be having difficulty getting comfortable sleep. This can be because of several reasons. Often the increasing size of the baby bump might be making it difficult for you to find a comfortable position to sleep.
Are you anxious about something?
Or has your naughty, little tiny tot decided to get active and start punching and kicking around now?
Do you find yourself waking up repeatedly to use the bathroom at night?
Experiencing troublesome leg cramps?
Your emotions:
As you are getting closer to the big day, it is natural to feel concerned. In case you are feeling too worried or anxious, then try to talk it out with someone you trust.
Understanding what to expect and planning your approach, and preparing for the arrival of your baby may help.
Back pain:
Pregnant moms-to-be are predisposed to develop back pain. The growing baby, changing body posture, effect of pregnancy hormones on the various joints and ligaments, etc. may be the reason for your backache.
How about trying a warm bath? Try to avoid sitting or standing continuously at a stretch. Watch your posture too. Do not take over-the-counter medications without your doctor’s prescription.
Baby’s hiccups:
Some moms-to-be might be occasionally sensing a bunch of little twitching in the tummy. This could be your tiny tot having hiccups in your womb!

What is your tiny tot up to?

Shall we look at a few developments that may be seen in your tiny tot around now?

Your little sweetie pie is now gaining some essential weight.
The toenails of the developing baby are evident around now2.
From head to heel, the baby might be around 38 cm on an average3. That would be about the size of a butternut squash.

Have you tried learning some lullabies…. Try singing, probably your little one may be listening!

Weight gain during pregnancy: Week 29

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