New Report Helps Overweight Women Control Weight Gain During Pregnancy
It used to be that doctors did not consider controlled weight gain during pregnancy to be important, but as more and more women are obese when they become pregnant, this has become an important concern. Today, there is a problem with society in general being overweight, but amost 2/3 of the women who are within child bearing age are overweight and this can be extremely dangerous. The Institue of Medicine and the National Reasearch Council has issued new guidelines regarding weight gain during pregnancy.
Previous to the 1990´s there was virtually no information on the proper amount of weight gain for pregnant women. At this time guidelines were established, but becuase of the increase in the number of overweight people, these guidelines have now been revised and re-published.
In these new guidelines overweight women are seriously advised to watch the amount of weight they gain during pregnancy, because this obesity can cause serious health problems, like heart disease, and high blood pressure.
Women that are overweight should calculate their body mass Index and thus determine how much weight they can gain during pregnancy. If the BMI is over 30 then they should reduce their weight gain to at most 20 pounds.
This excess weight gain causes higher numbers of caesarean births and can cause the baby to be premature, or end up at the other end of the scale, which is larger than normal with extra fat.
Up until the 90´s many women were not adviced at all as to weight gain during pregnancy, but today this information is crucial. Getting women adecuate information may keep both the mother and the child safe during pregnancy.
It is advised that all health care workers follow the guidelings and help pregnant women follow them as best as possible, so the birth comes out as best as possible.
The report also suggest that to help women maintain a normal BMI during pregnancy, they be refered to counseling programs that specialize in diet and exercise.
The Institue of Medicine and the National Reasearch Council cannot stress enough the importance of following weight gain guidelines while pregnant. These may be life saving suggestions for both the mother and the child.