Glossary

Term · Pregnancy: Eating

gestational weight gain

Also: GWG, pregnancy weight gain

The weight a person gains during pregnancy, including the baby, placenta, fluid, breast and uterine tissue, blood, and fat. Targets depend on starting weight.

In plain words

Gestational weight gain is the total weight a person gains during pregnancy. It is made of several parts. The baby, placenta, and amniotic fluid make up some of it. The uterus and breasts grow. Blood volume and body fluid rise. Some of it is stored fat, which helps fuel late pregnancy and breastfeeding. The total depends on starting weight, height, and whether the pregnancy is a single baby or more. Guidelines give ranges by starting body size. Many people gain weight in a steady pattern, with more in the second half. Weight gain is discussed at visits. It is one measure among many, not a grade on a pregnancy.

The deeper version

Gestational weight gain (GWG) is the sum of fetal and placental mass, amniotic fluid, uterine and breast hypertrophy, , extracellular fluid, and maternal fat deposition. The Institute of Medicine's 2009 guidance set total ranges by prepregnancy : roughly 12.5 to 18 kilograms for underweight, 11.5 to 16 for normal weight, 7 to 11.5 for overweight, and 5 to 9 for obesity. ACOG Committee Opinion 548 (2013) adopts the same ranges. Excessive gain is associated with delivery, large birth weight, and . Inadequate gain is associated with small-for-gestational-age births. The debate concerns whether the ranges should be individualized, how outcome differences across racial and ethnic groups should be read, and whether gain is a cause or a marker of outcomes.

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Sources

  • Institute of Medicine and National Research Council — Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexamining the Guidelines (2009)
  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — Committee Opinion 548: Weight gain during pregnancy (2013)

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