It is quite natural and correct to assume that during pregnancy a woman should gain weight. Everything is clear: the child grows and gains weight, the uterus and mammary gland increase in size, the amount of amniotic fluid increases - it seems that the weight gain of the pregnant woman is guaranteed.

But this rule, like any other, has its exceptions. Sometimes women lose weight during pregnancy.

Today we will understand why there is weight loss during pregnancy, when possible. We will analyze the causes of weight loss by trimester, find out if this situation is a cause for concern and what it threatens for the mother and child.

Why you can lose weight in the first trimester

The main reason for weight loss in early dates pregnancy is toxicosis. Each woman has a different severity of manifestations of toxicosis. Moreover, even with each subsequent pregnancy, a different degree of toxicosis is observed.

In the first half of pregnancy, women often experience a decrease in appetite, nausea, vomiting, and aversion to certain foods. It happens that the body does not perceive certain foods.

Normally, for the first trimester, an increase of 0.5 to 3 kg is normal. But weight loss during this period is common. And this is also an absolute norm, since during this period the size of the child is tiny, the uterus is also the size of a fist, there are still very few amniotic waters.

It is worth noting that weight loss is more typical for women who, even before pregnancy, had well-developed subcutaneous fat. In other words, there is a certain reserve, which, if necessary, can be used for the full development of the child while reducing the intake of nutrients.

Thus, a woman's moderate weight loss in the first trimester is not considered a pathology and is not dangerous for future mother and for the fetus. But at the same time, one should not lose vigilance in any case.

Week 36 "Head of a child" - "zero station". A hospital bed package, a joint in the trunk of a car. Week 37 One centimeter extended! Week 38 Two centimeters dilated, 70 percent erased! Week 40 Four centimeters widened, 100% erased. One day past date Now entering the fourth trimester.

Three days later Answer 14 phone calls that begin, "Are you still there?!" Scrub on top of the fridge. Walk like a warm penguin. Della's friend says shepherd's pie led to her labor. Eight days later the water breaks. Five hours later, Benjamin Stephen was born. Three-year-old Nikolai meets his new brother. "Shh!" he whispers. The younger brother is sleeping!

With severe weight loss, the body consumes reserves of adipose tissue. The breakdown of one's own tissues always occurs with the production of ketone bases (ketone bodies), the excessive concentration of which in the blood poses a particular danger to the baby. This breakdown product is able to penetrate the placental and blood-brain barrier and have a negative impact on the development nervous system and especially the fetal brain.

With severe toxicosis and significant loss of body weight, the expectant mother is hospitalized and the water and mineral balance is corrected using intravenous infusions.

Since a gynecologist examines a pregnant woman in the early stages once a month, a woman should know what changes she needs to see a doctor without waiting for the date of the appointment.

For example, if a future mother vomits 3-4 times a day and at the same time there is weight loss, then this condition threatens to dehydrate the body. This, in turn, can lead to detrimental consequences for the fetus and the mother herself.

Report this to your doctor. The doctor in this case will conduct an examination and examination and decide on the need for hospitalization and restoration of water, mineral, energy balance with the help of medicines.

Do not be afraid of inpatient treatment, because nothing can be more important than the health and well-being of your baby!

Reasons for weight loss in the second trimester

As a rule, weight loss in pregnant women is much less common during this period than in the first and third trimesters. The fact is that during this period the child grows and develops most intensively. Usually women during this period gain from 4-6 kg. But still there are exceptions to the rule.

During pregnancy, a woman is generally distinguished by a special emotional lability and a quick change in mood, a tendency to worry and worry about various, even minor reasons. Therefore, weight loss may be the result of a stressful situation and a change in the regimen of the day and rest of the pregnant woman.

Weight loss in the second trimester should be reported to your doctor immediately, as there are no grounds and physiological reasons for losing weight at this stage of pregnancy. If the weight still falls, then there is a problem with the health of the mother or child. Perhaps there are certain diseases or pathology of metabolism. The doctor should promptly conduct additional examinations that will eliminate the most common causes of weight loss in the second trimester of pregnancy.

In the third trimester, this is common.

On the later dates pregnancy is quite natural weight loss. This is how a woman's body prepares for childbirth. That is why the phenomenon of weight loss in the last stages of pregnancy is interpreted as one of the harbingers of childbirth.

It is worth clarifying that this is considered the norm precisely in the last weeks of pregnancy (2-3 weeks before delivery). The fact is that the body of a woman before childbirth gets rid of excess fluid, so the urge to urinate in the mother becomes more frequent, swelling decreases.

At this time, there is no longer a need for such an intensive renewal of the amniotic waters of the fetus, as before. In this regard, the body no longer needs to store and retain fluid. Also in the mother's body there is a thickening of the blood and a decrease in the total volume of circulating blood. So nature took care of the woman to reduce the risk of blood loss during childbirth.

What should a pregnant woman know about weight control?

In the first half of pregnancy, a woman visits a doctor every month. Before taking it, it must be weighed, and at the appointment, the doctor evaluates the monthly weight gain, an increase in the circumference of the abdomen and the height of the uterine fundus. Based on all this, he can make a conclusion about whether these indicators are invested in the accepted norms or not.

You need to properly control the weight in the morning on an empty stomach. You need to do this not once a month, but at least weekly.

Temporary unsharp drops in weight gain and loss in pregnant women are absolutely normal. That is, the expectant mother can lose weight in one week, and the next - gain weight to the original figures. Only a sharp weight gain or loss negatively affects the health of a pregnant woman and is perceived by the body as stress.

Many mothers are too afraid to gain excess weight, even during pregnancy they set themselves some kind of framework or dietary restrictions. Weight loss in this case is natural and suggests that there is not enough nutrition for the baby.

The principles of a healthy diet (frequent, 4-5 times a day, fractional meals in portions of 200-250 g, boiled and stewed foods instead of fried foods, a minimum of fatty, baked goods and sweets) have not been canceled during the period of bearing a child. Such a diet will allow the body to better digest food and absorb useful substances in conditions of a double load on the internal organs (liver, kidneys).

Moreover, such nutrition will help not to gain excess weight and provide the child with useful substances, not empty calories. Also, with this diet, it is possible to minimize such frequent phenomena during pregnancy as heartburn and constipation.

How does the weight loss of the expectant mother threaten the baby?

I must say that normally, the baby will still take everything that he needs for his development from the mother's body. And if mommy eats normally and still loses weight, then this may mean that the baby at this stage of development does not have enough incoming nutrients, and he receives a supplement from the stored resources of the mother's body.

Your weight loss must be known to the doctor who is in charge of your pregnancy. If he deems it necessary, he will prescribe an additional examination in order to reliably know how the baby grows and develops.

A biochemical analysis of the mother's blood will show if there are disturbances in the water and electrolyte balance, loss of blood electrolytes, microelements (sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium). After all, these disorders lead to disruption in the work of the nervous system, the work of muscles (convulsions), including the contractility of the muscles of the heart, in the formation of the bones of the skeleton.

With the help of ultrasound, you can track the development of the child, the amount of amniotic fluid (oligohydramnios, polyhydramnios), whether there are blood flow disorders in the mother-placenta-fetus system, signs of hypoxia (lack of oxygen) and fetal trophic disorders.

Such a simple study as a general blood test can tell the doctor about blood clotting, which is a consequence of dehydration of the body, for example, with toxicosis.

Since a pregnant woman who is registered at the clinic and regularly observed, in any case, takes these tests and passes these examinations, then you should not worry. The doctor will notice dangerous changes in the condition of the mother and fetus. Your task is to regularly come to the appointment and fulfill all the doctor's prescriptions.

So, now you know that weight loss during pregnancy is not a pathology, but an occasion for careful monitoring of the health of the expectant mother and fetus. A reasonable attitude to your diet and proper interaction with your doctor will save you from such problems during pregnancy. As a result, the mother will be healthy and her baby will be healthy.

Weight gain during pregnancy is a natural phenomenon that is caused by many factors: the growth of the baby in the womb, an increase in the amount of amniotic fluid, and hormonal changes. But it also happens that the expectant mother loses kilograms in the process of bearing a child. What causes weight loss during pregnancy, how to diagnose a similar condition and how to fix the problem, we will tell in this article.

At each scheduled examination by a gynecologist, a pregnant woman must stand on the scales, and subsequently the indicators of the device are recorded in the patient's card - in this way, the weight of the future mother is monitored throughout the entire period of bearing the child. There are certain norms for weight gain and the doctor closely monitors any deviations. For obvious reasons, a pregnant woman should gradually gain weight, but weight loss is not always considered the norm. Sometimes the reasons for this phenomenon are completely harmless, but sometimes they can become evidence that something is wrong with the health of the expectant mother. Let us consider in more detail the factors by which the weight of a pregnant woman can decrease:

1. The most common cause of weight loss during pregnancy is toxicosis. Firstly, constant nausea does not contribute to a good appetite, a woman has to give up various foods, and sometimes even switch to dry cookies. Of course, in such conditions, extra pounds simply have nowhere to come from. Vomiting that accompanies toxicosis leads to dehydration, which also contributes to weight loss. Early toxicosis is considered a natural condition, but only if the urge to vomit does not occur daily and repeatedly, exhausting the body. AT such a case The woman needs hospitalization.
2. Diseases of viral or bacterial origin, leading to a decrease in immunity, accompanied by inflammation and deterioration of well-being, are also the cause of weight loss. As a rule, after recovery, a woman gains lost kilograms back.
3. Constant stress and nervous tension are some of the likely reasons for weight loss during pregnancy. If the experiences of the expectant mother lead to a loss of appetite, it is not surprising that her body weight does not increase.
4. Excessive levels of progesterone in the blood can lead to a deterioration in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. A pregnant woman rarely feels appetite and desire to eat, which also negatively affects her health.
5. AT last days pregnancy, a grown child presses down on the internal organs, including the stomach. This responds not only with loss of appetite, but also with frequent heartburn. Therefore, a slight decrease in weight before childbirth is a common occurrence.
6. Irrational distribution of work and rest time, overwork are also considered as probable factors of weight loss.
7. An incorrectly compiled menu and the poor quality of the food that the expectant mother eats can also lead to weight loss. The menu of a woman carrying a baby should be balanced, contain all those substances that support the normal functioning of the body. With a lack of any components, body weight may decrease.
8. Smoking and drinking alcohol, which are harmful in themselves, can also cause weight loss.

A pregnant woman should pay close attention to her health if weight loss has occurred abruptly and in short time, especially if, against the background of such a phenomenon, there is a general deterioration in well-being.

In case of a strong decrease in body weight, as well as if the pregnant woman has any pathologies, the attending physician may prescribe certain examinations of the body, which include:

• gynecological examination;
• detailed blood and urine tests;
• tests for certain hormones;
• ultrasound procedure.

Weight loss during various periods of pregnancy

Weight loss during first trimester pregnancy

In the first few weeks of pregnancy, the changes that occur in the body of the expectant mother are not so significant and are almost invisible externally. Body weight in the first weeks of the term increases by a maximum of 2-3 kg. Usually during this period, the woman is still working and actively engaged in her usual activities, and the fetus in her womb is too small. But, in most cases, weight loss at this time is considered normal, the common cause of which is toxicosis. Frequent nausea and vomiting lead to loss of appetite, poor digestion, dehydration, exclusion from the diet of some familiar products. All this, in turn, is a factor in weight loss.

Although early toxicosis is considered a normal occurrence of pregnancy, it should not be written off. Frequent dehydration, malnutrition, rapid weight loss can lead to the appearance in the body of the future mother of ketone bodies - substances that can harm the baby in the womb.

If toxicosis is accompanied by frequent vomiting, the number of which exceeds 4 episodes per day, it is recommended that the pregnant woman go to hospital for inpatient treatment, where, under the supervision of a doctor, the state of the body will be kept under control. As a rule, early toxicosis goes away on its own with the onset of the second trimester of pregnancy. After the problem disappears, the woman's weight should return to normal.

Sometimes weight loss in early pregnancy is not accompanied by toxicosis. A woman can feel great, lead an active lifestyle, while losing pounds. This phenomenon is quite common and in most cases it is considered the norm, but in order to make sure that everything is in order with health, it is advisable to undergo additional examinations. If weight loss is associated with poor health, pain, weakness or other manifestations of the disease, it is simply necessary to seek medical help.

Now I would like to consider in more detail how the weight of a pregnant woman should change in the first weeks of bearing a baby. As a rule, in the first 10 weeks of the term, the increase in body weight is rather insignificant and completely imperceptible to the naked eye. Weight gain rates for pregnant women who were initially underweight are as follows:

• in the first 14 days, weight gain can be up to 0.5 kg;
• after another 2 weeks, this figure will be about 900 g;
• in a month and a half, body weight should normally increase by 1.4 kg;
• in the second month of pregnancy, the expectant mother can add 1.6 kg;
• at 2.5 months, this figure should be about 1.8 kg;
• at the 12th week of the term, in women of a frail physique, the weight gain will be about 2 kg.

Pregnant women who do not have a body weight deficit will gain kilograms a little more slowly, for them the growth rates are as follows:

• the first two weeks, the increase will be up to 0.5 kg;
• per month this figure will increase to 0.7 kg;
• for a period of one and a half months, the increase will be 1 kg;
• in another two weeks, the expectant mother will become 1.2 kg heavier;
• at 10 weeks of gestation, weight gain should be within 1.3 kg;
• by the end of the first trimester, the weight of a pregnant woman with a normal physique may increase by 1.5 kg.

In overweight pregnant women, the rate of increase will also be slightly different:

• in the first month, the weight gain will be about 0.5 kg;
• after another 2 weeks, the increase will be 0.6 kg;
• until the very end of the second trimester, overweight pregnant women can add 100 g every 2 weeks.

Weight loss during second trimester pregnancy

Since toxicosis in the second trimester of pregnancy practically does not bother the expectant mother, the cause of weight loss may be associated with other factors, such as stress, nervous tension, or some kind of disease. In the case of stress, which is accompanied by a loss of appetite, this phenomenon will be quite understandable. But if a woman eats no less than usual, but at the same time loses kilograms, there is a reason to suspect the disease and conduct the necessary examinations.

It also happens that the expectant mother, in fear of gaining excessive weight, which will later be difficult to get rid of, restricts herself in nutrition and, as a result, loses weight. It is important to remember here that the period of bearing a baby is not best time for diets, because a small organism needs a lot of substances for its normal development. Of course, eating for two is also not worth it, but the food should be complete and balanced, contain a maximum of nutrients.

Weight loss in the second trimester of pregnancy should alert the expectant mother, because at this time, weight gain is gaining momentum, the child is actively growing, the amount of amniotic fluid in the fetal bladder increases, and a round belly becomes visible to the naked eye. Consider what weight gain is considered normal for women of a frail physique:

• at the 14th week of the term, the body weight of the pregnant woman should increase by 2.7 kg;
• after another 2 weeks, this figure will increase to 3.2 kg;
• by week 18, the expectant mother will gain 4.5 kg;
• at week 20, the increase will be about 5.4 kg;
• after another two weeks, the figure will increase to 6.8 kg;
• at the 26th week of the term, weight gain can be 8.6 kg;
• by the end of the second trimester, the expectant mother will gain about 9.8 kg.

For women with a normal physique, the indicators will be as follows:

• by week 14, weight gain will be 1.9 kg;
• after 2 weeks, this figure will increase to 2.3 kg;
• after another 2 weeks, the weight of the pregnant woman will increase by 3.6 kg relative to the initial indicator;
• at week 20, the increase will be 4.8 kg;
• at the 22nd week of the term, body weight will increase by 5.7 kg;
• in another month, the increase will reach 7.7 kg;
• by the end of the second trimester, the weight of the expectant mother will increase by 8.2 kg.

If a woman was overweight before pregnancy, the increase will not be as significant as in the cases described above:

• by the 14th week of the term, the weight will increase by 1 kg;
• in a month this figure will reach 2.3 kg;
• in another month, the increase will be about 3.4 kg;
• at the 26th week of the term, the weight of the pregnant woman will increase by 5 kg;
• at the end of the second trimester, the increase will be 5.4 kg.

Weight loss during pregnancy in the 3rd trimester

In the very last weeks of pregnancy, just before the birth itself, a woman's weight may decrease. As a rule, the weight is reduced by no more than 3 kg. This symptom is considered a harbinger of an early birth and often does not cause any concern.

But it happens that the weight is reduced for other reasons. For example, if the last trimester falls on summer time, the woman suffers from heat, sweats profusely and does not eat very much due to a deterioration in appetite. If at the same time the development of the child occurs at a normal pace, and the loss of kilograms is not accompanied by a general deterioration in health, there is nothing to worry about. To be sure that everything is in order with the child, and there are no pathologies in the body, you should regularly visit the attending physician in the antenatal clinic.

A reason to worry may arise if an ultrasound scan has established a child’s body weight deficit or any other diseases have been identified. In such cases, the situation requires medical intervention.

As a rule, by the end of pregnancy, women with a normal physique should gain up to 13.5 kg. With a lack of body weight, weight gain at the end of pregnancy will be 15.2 kg. And for mothers who were overweight before pregnancy, this figure will be 9 kg.

How to deal with weight loss during pregnancy

1. Weekly weight control during pregnancy is considered a must. Weighing every week, the results should be recorded in a calendar or in a diary - so it will be easier to track weight loss.
2. It is also important to monitor the diet and, if possible, write down the amount of food eaten and the composition of the dishes. Perhaps the cause of weight loss is the wrong diet. In this case, it is desirable to revise the menu and make it complete and balanced.
3. The food that a pregnant woman consumes should be easy on the stomach and well absorbed. Excessively fatty, spicy and smoked foods are poorly digested and disrupt the digestive tract.
4. A balanced menu is another important condition maintaining not only normal weight but also the health of the child. No diet during pregnancy is unacceptable.
5. The psychological environment in which the expectant mother lives every day is also very important for the normal course of pregnancy. All irritating factors should be eliminated as far as possible, it is advisable to avoid quarrels and contradictions with loved ones, and even better, when there is a person next to the pregnant woman who is ready to provide support in any situation.
6. To reduce the manifestations of toxicosis, but not to lose weight, it is recommended to eat in small portions, but often enough.

Let us consider in more detail what products the diet of the expectant mother should be rich in:

1. Bread, preferably whole grain, is a necessary part of the daily menu. Such bread contains a sufficient amount of proteins and fiber, as well as vitamins and other useful substances.
2. Fruits and vegetables consumed fresh will bring great benefits to the body of a pregnant woman. Dried fruits, honey and nuts will be no less useful, especially if you add them to muesli and eat them for breakfast.
3. Milk, yogurt, curdled milk, sour cream, cottage cheese, cheese and other dairy products should also make up a significant part of the expectant mother's daily menu. A pregnant woman is recommended to drink at least 0.5 liters of milk daily or replace it with fermented milk products.
4. An important component of the diet is also considered meat - the main source of protein. In the case of this product, it is important to pay attention to the way it is prepared. Boiled or baked meat will be much healthier than fried.
5. No less useful than meat is fish. It is not necessary to eat it every day, but it is recommended to eat fish at least once a week. It is preferable to eat fish not fried or smoked, but boiled, stewed or baked.
6. A pregnant woman should also not forget about a sufficient amount of liquid. It is best to drink compotes or natural juices, as well as ordinary clean water.