Many Women Don't Lose Those Pregnancy Pounds, Study Finds
Many Women Don't Lose Those Pregnancy Pounds, Study Finds
One-third who had been normal weight before giving birth were overweight or obese a year later
Women who become pregnant should also understand that it's a myth that they're "eating for two," she said, and should only consume an extra 300 to 400 calories daily when pregnant if expecting a single baby.
The low-income status of women in the study may have influenced the results, Endres said. These mothers could have found it more difficult to lose weight because of lack of money to join a gym, for example, or may not "even have a safe area in their neighborhood to take a walk," she said.
Dr. Timothy Hickman, director of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, said the findings were "exactly what I expected." But he noted that postpartum exercise and breast-feeding can help women avoid holding onto excess pregnancy pounds.
"You're not predestined to have this happen," he said. "Anyone is at risk for [excessive] pregnancy weight gain if you don't have a specific plan in place. This [research] speaks to getting in the best possible shape before conceiving and developing a plan to lose the weight afterward."
New mothers' weight loss efforts might benefit from more frequent health care visits after pregnancy than just the single doctor's visit routinely offered six weeks after childbirth, Endres said. "Maybe we need to be seeing women more frequently" to help support them through this critical time, she said.
The study was published online Dec. 8 in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, in advance of its January 2015 print publication.
Many Women Don't Lose Those Pregnancy Pounds
One-third who had been normal weight before giving birth were overweight or obese a year later
Women who become pregnant should also understand that it's a myth that they're "eating for two," she said, and should only consume an extra 300 to 400 calories daily when pregnant if expecting a single baby.
The low-income status of women in the study may have influenced the results, Endres said. These mothers could have found it more difficult to lose weight because of lack of money to join a gym, for example, or may not "even have a safe area in their neighborhood to take a walk," she said.
Dr. Timothy Hickman, director of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, said the findings were "exactly what I expected." But he noted that postpartum exercise and breast-feeding can help women avoid holding onto excess pregnancy pounds.
"You're not predestined to have this happen," he said. "Anyone is at risk for [excessive] pregnancy weight gain if you don't have a specific plan in place. This [research] speaks to getting in the best possible shape before conceiving and developing a plan to lose the weight afterward."
New mothers' weight loss efforts might benefit from more frequent health care visits after pregnancy than just the single doctor's visit routinely offered six weeks after childbirth, Endres said. "Maybe we need to be seeing women more frequently" to help support them through this critical time, she said.
The study was published online Dec. 8 in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, in advance of its January 2015 print publication.
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