Fetal weight gain is vital for the development of the embryo to a fetus, and finally to a baby. Ideally, the baby weighs at least one pound at the end of the first trimester. Most of the weight gain occurs between the third and the ninth month of the pregnancy. The twenty-third week of the pregnancy marks the journey of weight gain.
- By the twenty-seventh week, the baby’s weight should be at least two pounds. The mother usually weighs more by this time.
- The second trimester also marks the time when the fetal weight accelerates. The pregnant woman should at this point ensure that they eat a diet that provides them with at least 300 calories each day in order to guarantee healthy fetal growth.
- The baby’s bones also cater for general weight of the baby. This means that the pregnant mother-to-be needs to take sufficient amounts of iron and calcium.
- The weight of the pregnant mother could be indicative of the overall weight of the fetus. As such, the mothers-to-be should try to regulate their weights to avoid the baby becoming overweight and developing complications such as fetal macrosomia.
Research indicate that fetal weight is affected by maternal factors, paternal factors, environmental influences, physiological factors, pathological factors and complications that the pregnant woman may experience during pregnancy. Women suffering from intrauterine growth retardation usually give birth to children who have low weights at birth. Another prominent cause of low baby weight at birth is the preterm delivery, whereby babies are born before the completion of the 9 months gestation period.