Parenting

35 weeks pregnant: Healthy weight gain

How much weight gain is normal during pregnancy? It can vary depending on some key factors.
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Your body

If your baby isn’t yet engaged, she and the placenta will be pushing your uterus up under your ribs. This isn’t the most comfortable part of pregnancy, as you may feel squashed and out of breath.

You’re probably feeling a mixture of emotions: you’re looking forward to meeting your baby, but dreading the birth. Not much longer to go now!

On the scales

You should have put on between 9-14kg. How much weight you gain depends on your size before you were pregnant, the size of your baby and, of course, how much you eat during pregnancy! You may have gained all the weight you’re going to, and you may find at your antenatal check-ups that it stays more or less the same. As the birth approaches, some women even lose a little.

Where the weight goes

The average weight gain during pregnancy is about 13kg. Here’s where it goes:

Your baby: 3.2kg

Uterus: 0.9kg

Placenta: 0.6kg

Amniotic fluid: 0.6-0.9kg

Breasts: 1.46kg

Extra blood: 1.4-1.8kg

Extra body fluid: 1.4-1.6kg

Fat: 4.6-5.5kg

Your baby

Your baby weighs about 2.5kg and is now gaining about 14g of fat a day. She’s about 33cm crown to rump long and 45cm including her legs. Her brain is developing rapidly, so if you’ve been under stress at work or home, try to relax.

The jury’s still out on exactly how much your state of mind can affect your baby’s progress in the uterus, but recent studies suggest there may be a link between extremely stressed mothers and low-birth weight babies. Plus, after an earthquake in Italy in 1980, 28 pregnant women who had been frightened but unharmed were scanned to check their babies were okay. All the babies were very overactive, and remained that way for several hours. Take it easy…

Move it, baby

If you become aware of a reduction in your baby’s movements, head straight in for a check-up with your midwife or doctor. They may recommend you keep a kick chart where you record each movement over a specified period every day.

Early arrival

If you’ve been concerned about giving birth early, stop worrying now. Around 99 percent of babies born at 35 weeks survive, and most are completely healthy.

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