Recommended weight gain during pregnancy

OBGYN Shamsah Amersi, MD, explains what the normal weight gain is during pregnancy and what the risks are for women who gain too much during pregnancy
Recommended Weight Gain During Pregnancy
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Recommended weight gain during pregnancy

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The recommended weight gain during pregnancy depends on various factors, most importantly, how much you weighed before you got pregnant. If you were a normal weight patient, we recommend 25-35 pounds. If you are starting the pregnancy underweight, we recommend 35-40 pounds. If you are overweight, we recommend 15-20 pounds. For patients who are morbidly obese, no more than 10-15 pounds. These numbers change slightly if you are delivering multiples and you are going to have to discuss that with the doctor, but typically about 5 pounds extra. For patients who gain too much during pregnancy, it can lead to multiple complications. This includes a five-fold increase in gestational diabetes. Women with diabetes and are overweight, have a might higher risk of having a baby that's too big to be delivered vaginally. Those babies would end up in a cesarean section, and also have a risk of childhood obesity. In addition, physical ailments from too much weight gain that includes back pain, and postpartum, difficulty losing that weight. Women who are overweight will have a 50 percent chance of developing diabetes when they are older. If you gain too little weight, your baby is too little and can have a risk of premature labor.

OBGYN Shamsah Amersi, MD, explains what the normal weight gain is during pregnancy and what the risks are for women who gain too much during pregnancy

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Shamsah Amersi, MD

Obstetrician & Gynecologist

Shamsah Amersi, MD is a preeminent Board Certified physician in Obstetrics and Gynecology. She received her undergraduate degree in psychobiology from UCLA, where she graduated summa cum laude, with Phi Beta Kappa membership. At the prestigious, UC San Francisco medical school, Dr. Amersi graduated with top honors, and was recognized as a distinguished member of alpha omega alpha, an honor society for the top 5% of all medical doctors.

Dr. Amersi has received numerous professional and academic awards, including the University of California Distinguished Scholar Award for four consecutive years, an endowed merit scholarship, and the UCLA Alumni Association Achievement Award for four consecutive years. Through her private practice in Santa Monica, CA, Dr. Amersi is the personal physician to several Hollywood A-list celebrities. Dr. Amersi has been in private practice as an obstetrician/gynecologist for over ten years. She specializes in natural child birth, offers VBACs to her patients, and focuses on natural conservative treatment options, minimally invasive surgery, and bioidentical hormone replacement. Her favorite part of her job is delivering babies and sharing this intimate journey with her patients. She provides comprehensive compassionate care for all phases of a woman's life from adolescence through menopause.  Her special interest in female sexuality, libido and the effects of childbirth on pelvic prolapse has led to Dr. Amersi's renowned expertise in these fields. She performs both surgical and nonsurgical treatments for pelvic prolapse and vaginal relaxation.

 

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