One for you pregnant women: The Average Woman & Pregnancy

  • This is from the March issue of Women's Health magazine, but I kept forgetting to post it. Still, it's interesting.

    30: Pounds which the Average Woman (AW) puts on while pregnant.
    Where it all goes:
    Baby: 7.5
    Placenta: 1.5
    Amniotic fluid: 2
    Uterus: 2
    Breasts: 2
    Bodily fluids: 4
    Maternal stores of fat, protein, & other nutrients: 7

    Excluding the baby's weight, pounds lost immediately after delivery: 11
    Stubborn pounds that stick around a year later: 3.3

    Number of hours the AW is in labor with her first baby: 13
    Number of women who have a c-section: 1 in 4.
    Percentage of women who have a drug-free birth: 40

    Day the AW is most likely to go into labor: Tuesday (I missed this with all 3 of mine. )
    Of what month: July
    That means she concieved in: November
  • Thanks for posting that-I try to let women who are worried about gaining weight know that there is so much weight that naturally *has* to be gained, that isn't directly on the baby itself...and that they should not worry so much.
    In my case, it is even more. I don't even know if it is directly related to having big babies and GD, but I always have bigger placentas, and more than average amniotic fluid. It is sort of disturbing to be in labor, and hearing the nurses commenting on "look how much water came out!!"
  • Ok, my body's just weird then. Cause I didn't lose ANY weight after birth, but within the first week, I lost 30 pounds. And only 9.5 of that was baby. I wasn't trying to lose, it just dropped off quickly. But you can tell in the hospital pics that I looked like I was floating in fluid I was so water-swelled.
  • It's 30.5 weeks and I gained 37Lbs;..... yikes, oh well,.... I don't want to gain more than 7 more lbs or else that puts me over 200; a number I haven't seen in years but if I do, I do... Then again I realize the first part does drop off and I do plan to BF. I am happy I am giving birth in July (didn't know it was the most common month, but I know a lot of women who are due the same time as me!). I am due on a Sunday, but I know less than 5% of women deliver on their due dates.

    Cheers!

    Ali