Weight is a common topic among women. Most often we’re talking about how much we’ve put on. In a world filled with culinary delights and cooking shows just urging us to have a taste, it’s no wonder our waistlines keep expanding. Most of us look down at some point and wonder where all the extra weight suddenly came from. And it can be even more surprising for pregnant women.

A new study has found that many females are completely unaware as to how much weight they should be gaining during pregnancy.

Weight gain is just one of the symptoms of pregnancy. A woman gains an average of 25 to 30 pounds during these nine months. But is this acceptable?

The study, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics, found that two-thirds of expectant Australian women didn’t know how much weight was appropriate to gain while pregnant.

More than 660 pregnant women were involved in the study and as many as a third were recorded as having gained too much weight while expecting.  

When it’s time to give birth, every mum will be carrying a lot more luggage. Some of this weight can be accounted for by the baby, the placenta and the amniotic fluid. At birth, a baby weighs just over seven pounds on average. Your placenta makes up for about one and half pounds and the amniotic fluid usually comes in at just less than two pounds.

Aside from the baby, your body goes through a lot of changes that affect your weight. The layer of muscle around your womb grows substantially, weighing about another two pounds, while your blood volume and extra bodily fluid increases by another two pounds each. There’s also the extra one pound of weight in your breasts. And then there’s fat. Your body will store a bit less than nine pounds of fat (on average), which is purposely to supply your body with energy for breastfeeding.

So, after all that you’re going to be a lot heavier at the end of the nine months. But all of these changes are necessary pregnancy symptoms. It’s only the weight on top of this that you should be thinking about.

Of course, these figures are only averages. For more accurate information you should seek pregnancy advice from Clearblue Advice. But, the most important thing is to accept that you will put on weight during pregnancy. Your body is meant to – but there is a limit.

Next time you’re talking about weight, be proud of the changes your body is going through to produce a healthy baby.