You will remember that some time ago we commented that American doctors asked for a review of the weight tables to gain during pregnancy to help alleviate the obesity epidemic that attacks the country.
Well, their claims have paid off, albeit halfway. The United States Institute of Medicine just released the new guides on weight gain in pregnancy.
In reality, things have not changed substantially with respect to the previous recommendations published in 1990. Twenty years ago the situation of obesity in the population was not the same as now, so they have found it necessary to reformulate the weight standards that should increase pregnant
As I commented, the values have almost not been modified, except in the case of obese women.
The 1990 recommendations said that women of normal weight should increase between 11 and 16 kilos, now suggest the same values.
That women with a high body weight mass should increase 7 kilos, while now they specify that women who are slightly overweight should increase between 6.8 and 11 kilos while obese women should increase only between 5 and 9 kilos.
On the other hand, the values for women with a lower than normal body mass index (18.5), which should increase between 13 and 18 kilos, were not modified, which seems somewhat excessive.
Gaining too much weight during pregnancy leads to greater possibilities of complications such as giving birth to a baby that is too large, being born by caesarean section or suffering from congenital defects.
Of course, the most advisable thing is to achieve a healthy weight before becoming pregnant and thus gain weight within the range considered normal. That on the other hand, has not been modified keeping it between 11 and 16 kilos when some publications speak of an ideal weight to gain between 9 and 14 kilos. They are just 2 kilos apart, but it is an adequate weight to guarantee the baby's good development as well as to facilitate recovery after delivery for the mother.
