How Much Weight Should You Gain in Pregnancy?

Angela Chiodo, CNM Certified Nurse-Midwife: Weight gain in pregnancy is one of those big issues that, it's been changing over time. Now we know that people don't need to gain as much weight as we thought they did.

Oksana, 37 Weeks Pregnant: I did gain a lotta weight with my first preganancy, 60 pounds with my first. This time around, I am a lot more educated on that stuff, so I've been watching and eating healthy.

Rachel Walker, MD OB/GYN: The amount of weight you should gain during your pregnancy is not standard for everyone. It depends on the weight that you're starting at.

Kathy Wood, MD OB/GYN: If you're starting at a healthy weight at the beginning of your pregnancy, then your goal is to gain about 25 to 35 pounds throughout the pregnancy. Most people don't have a problem with this, and if anything, most people gain too much weight.

Stella Dantas, MD OB/GYN: If you're starting off above your ideal body weight, then you're looking at gaining between 10 to 20 pounds during the entire pregnancy.

Vicki Cohen, CNM Certified Nurse-Midwife: I would say the pattern of weight gain is probably more important, and what you're eating is more important than the actual weight gain.

Julia Barnes, MD OB/GYN: To break that down, a lot of women will gain between one and five pounds in the first trimester then about a pound a week afterwards.

Francine, 33 Weeks Pregnant: The first time around with my son, everybody was like don't worry. Eat for two, go ahead. This time around, if I feel full, I stop.

Fonda Mitchell, MD OB/GYN: There have been a lot of old wives tales about having to eat for two. The reality is that a woman really only needs an additional 300 calories per day during the course of her pregnancy to maintain good nutritional support for the fetus.

Angela Chiodo, CNM Certified Nurse-Midwife: Instead of paying a lot of attention to the number, the biggest thing is to pay attention to eating a healthy diet.

Esther, 20 Weeks Pregnant: I didn't realize food was such a big part of pregnancy. You know, you hear stories all the time women eating whatever they want when they're pregnant, whatever they're craving, you could just have. I didn't realize you had to be careful and that you had to eat healthy. Everything you put in your body matters. That's something that I'm still learning.

Kathy Wood, MD OB/GYN: If you gain too much weight during the pregnancy, then you do put yourself and your pregnancy at risk. You have increased risk of things like preterm labor, problems during the labor, increased risk of C-section, increased risk of gestational diabetes, which can put your baby at risk after the baby's born as well.

Kevin Overbeck, MD OB/GYN: The ultimate outcome, of course, we're looking for is a healthy baby and a healthy mom, and those still happen, even when you don't gain weight. It's very difficult to lose weight, as anybody knows, but especially after having a baby. Your sleep is interrupted often, and it makes if difficult to follow a proper diet and exercise. So holding your weight at the proper level during pregnancy is vital.