Getting slim after pregnancy is
gradual
February 05, 2005
Obstetricians are often in the difficult position of
reassuring women that some weight gain — but not
too much — is necessary and beneficial. Obesity
is an issue, but so are eating disorders.
"The pregnant body is pretty smart," said
Dr. Nancy O'Neil, an obstetrician/gynecologist with
Northwest Women's Healthcare, which is affiliated with
Swedish Medical Center. "The body wants a certain
percent of body fat by 20 weeks, and it will work hard
to get there."
The general guidelines of a 25- to 35-pound gain during
pregnancy are for an average-weight woman. "A woman
who is very slender when she gets pregnant may gain
more weight in the beginning, then plateau," O'Neil
said. "An overweight woman might not gain much
since she already has fat there."
A review of 1990s research concluded that weight gains
within the recommended range are associated with better
pregnancy outcomes, according to a 2000 issue of the
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Too little gain
may result in babies with low birth weight, while women
on the upper end may have very large infants with a
higher risk of birth injury and other problems.
Research published in 1996, though, found less than
a third of women gain weight within the current guidelines;
other studies show the amount of total weight gain varies
widely among women with healthy babies.
Postpartum
Women should give themselves six months to a year to
get back to their pre-baby weight, experts say. Studies
found that pregnant women who gained more than the recommended
amount were twice as likely to retain excessive weight
as those who didn't.
Numerous studies on body-weight changes all reported
postpartum weight increases, according to a 2002 article
in the Healthy Weight Journal. After six months to two
years, studies found a 2- to 7-pound gain in white women
and 7 to 13 pounds in black women.
Though there are many benefits to breastfeeding, the
oft-cited component of faster weight loss may not be
one of them. A review of nine studies in a 2002 Healthy
Weight Journal article noted that "the effects
of lactation on postpartum weight are not yet clear."
Researchers at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical
Center found that moms who didn't breastfeed lost fat
faster than nursing women during the first six months,
though both shed about the same amount of weight.
Doctors should be careful not to give nursing moms false
expectations, the researchers concluded in a 2004 issue
of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
"A woman with a 2-month-old baby who's very slender
again is genetically blessed," O'Neil said. "Most
women's bodies try to hold onto the weight while they're
breastfeeding. A lot of women really fight that.
"Most women, for the first six weeks, are too
tired and too absorbed with their baby to exercise much,"
O'Neil said. "But by six weeks, the societal pressures
to be thin again are very, very strong."
Pushing the body to exercise immediately won't do much
good anyway, said O'Neil, a mom who has delivered babies
for 23 years. The abdominal muscles, for example, need
to go through a period of shortening before women should
do sit-ups. Before that, "the sad thing is, it's
exhausting for the mother and you're not really going
to see much result from it." She suggests low-key
activities such as walking or yoga.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
says exercise routines "may be resumed gradually
as soon as it is physically and medically safe."
The time period will vary.
At her six-week postpartum visits, O'Neil stresses
the importance of setting aside time to exercise. "Put
it into your regimen immediately," she said. "Once
you go a year with kids and don't have exercise in the
program, it's very hard to get it back in."
New moms feel guilty about devoting time to themselves,
but exercise is vital for staying healthy, O'Neil said.
If it's a challenge to find 30 minutes to exercise,
do three 10-minute sessions, suggests Sue Fleming, author
of "Buff Moms." As she noted, "exercise
helps give you the strength, stamina and energy level
to keep up with things" — including that
baby who will soon be a fast-moving toddler.
Source:http://seattletimes.nwsource.com
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