Are you currently pregnant with twins, or multiples? It's usually a bit of a shock at first,
but as you get used to the idea of more than one baby growing inside your belly you may
start to have some questions about the changes that are going to happen in your body. One of
the most frequently asked questions is what is appropriate weight gain for multiple pregnancies?
Hi there! A really big and warm welcome from me, Melanie McGrice. I'm a specialist
fertility and prenatal dietitian and one of my favourite things to do is help parents-to-be
navigate nutritional guidelines to give their baby, or in your case, babies, the best start.
In addition to this video and a whole bunch of other information-filled videos on my channel,
I have a host of helpful information on all my social media accounts, so feel free to
connect with me there as well. You'll find my details in the description box below this video.
In this session, I'm going to discuss weight gain for multiple pregnancies.
We've all heard the adage, eating for two, or in your case it may be more like eating for three,
four or even five! This saying has been debunked a number of times and
dietitians worldwide now accept and promote that a pregnant woman should
be adapting their energy intake according to their weight gain.
It may feel a little scary to think that you're going to be gaining weight,
but it is incredibly important to remind yourself that appropriate weight gain during your pregnancy
is not the same as gaining weight from eating too much. When you gain weight during your pregnancy
there are two main components contributing to this weight. The first component includes your
bubba's and their amniotic fluid and placenta, or placentas. The second component is the adaptations
to your body, needed to support your pregnancy, including the expansion of your blood volume,
enlarged breast tissue and uterus as well as a few kilograms of fat (which are there
to give you energy for breastfeeding once your bubbas are born). So when I explain how
much weight you're likely to gain in a few moments, keep all these components in mind!
Most of the research done in multiple pregnancies has been done in twins,
mostly because having twins is more common that higher-order multiples.
However, even though there is limited information, we do still have guidelines for what constitutes
appropriate weight gain for these groups. Let's explore each one in a little more detail.
As with a singleton pregnancy, gaining weight is usually linked to the mother's pre-pregnancy BMI
or body mass index. Just as a quick recap, BMI is your weight divided by your height squared.
If your pre-pregnancy BMI was <18.5 that is considered to be underweight. Between 18.5
and 24.9 is normal, 25-29.9 is overweight and anything over 30 is considered to be obese.
It's so important to remember that these classifications are
not meant to make you feel bad about your weight,
rather we use them to help determine what kind of weight gain is best for an optimal outcome,
a healthy mum and healthy babies. Too little as well as too much can be dangerous for all of you.
Let's start with twins:
Your total weight gain by the end of your twin pregnancy should be 17-25 kilograms for
those with a normal BMI, 14-23 kilograms for those who are considered overweight,
and 11-19 kilograms for those who are obese. At present, there is not enough evidence to
give recommendations for weight gain in mum's pregnant with multiples who are underweight or
have a BMI of greater than 35. If you fall into either of these categories,
it's best to get personalised support. If you'd like, you can book a nutrition
assessment with one of our highly skilled dietitians at melaniemcgrice.com/BookNow.
Interestingly, when you gain weight can also have an effect on your bubba's growth as well as
how long you carry them, remembering that term for twins is considered to be anything
after 37 weeks, and you want to try get as close to that as possible. A good rule
of thumb is for twin mum's-to-be to gain at least 10kg in the first half of your pregnancy
and then to gain the remaining weight in your second half.
What about triplets or more?
For triplets or higher-order multiples the research is limited but in general, best
practice advice suggests that mum's of triplets aim to gain 20.5 - 23 kg by 32 to 34 weeks of
which 16 kg was gained before 24 weeks and mum's of quadruplets to gain 21 - 31 kg by 32 weeks of pregnancy.
So there you have it, the current consensus of how much weight you should gain when you
are pregnant with multiples. I know it's a lot, and it can be challenging to eat enough
calories to gain adequate weight. Remember that weight gain is not the only factor that
affects your health and the health of your babies... What you eat is also
really important. We have an amazing 'Multiples Nutrition Toolkit' for mumma's just like you. To grab one
head over to melaniemcgrice.com/shop to get access to this valuable information today.
Thanks so much for joining me and I'll look forward to seeing you in my next video.