Weight gain putting new mums at risk
Research has revealed mums-to-be are putting themselves at risk by underestimating how much weight they have gained during pregnancy.
A new study has found women with gestational diabetes can often be unaware of how much weight they have put on during pregnancy and how many kilograms they need to shed after giving birth, causing a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Michelle Arvanitis developed gestational diabetes when she was pregnant with her second baby, but she didn't realise that condition, along with her pregnancy weight gain, made her more likely to develop type 2 diabetes in the future.
"I was quite shocked, I didn't expect that I'd fall into that category,” she said.
Researcher Allison Sigmund said the risk for women who are more overweight after pregnancy developing type 2 diabetes is much higher.
Although there are no official Australian guidelines to healthy pregnancy weight gain, using your pre-pregnancy weight and height to calculate your Body Mass Index can be helpful.
Women with a BMI of 18.5 to 25 should put on between 11.5 and 16 kilograms.
For women with a BMI of 25 to 30, weight gain from seven to 11.5 kilograms is recommended.
For women with a higher BMI of 30 or more, the recommended amount of weight gain is five to nine kilograms.
Excess weight and gestational diabetes is not only a risk to the mother, it also increases the chance that the child will develop obesity and type 2 diabetes later in life.
There are some key recommendations to help weight management during pregnancy:
• Eat small meals often and try to avoid foods high in sugar
• Try to eat a variety of foods from all the food groups
• Phyical activity is also really important during pregnancy.
