To start, the IOM is saying that the changes in the guidelines are due, in part, to the fact that more women are overweight or obese prior to getting pregnant and many are waiting until later to have children, which puts the mother and child at a greater risk when the mother gains too much. The IOM recommends overweight women be offered prepregnancy counseling and education about weight, diet, exercise, and contraception, so they can lose extra weight before getting pregnant.

Once pregnant, she’s supposed to keep her weight gain within the following limits, based on her Body Mass Index before pregnancy.

Pregnant women tend to follow hormonal cravings and don’t always monitor their daily caloric intake. Most women are under the impression that they can eat whenever and whatever they want and follow the “eating for two” diet plan.

Don’t go there, says Melissa Goist, MD, a clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Ohio State University Medical Center and one of the experts who wrote the IOM’s new guidelines. She, and the others involved in the research, say the public hasn’t gotten the message that pregnancy isn’t a time to ignore weight or eat with abandon.

A normal-weight woman only needs about 300 extra calories per day to maintain a healthy pregnancy unless she’s having a multiple baby pregnancy. That’s equivalent to one additional balanced meal a day, or a couple extra snacks.

What happens if you’ve gained too much already? Pregnancy is not a time to lose weight, said guidelines co-author Dr. Anna Maria Siega-Riz of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

I may not be the norm, but I had three pregnancies and ended up at the same weight, give or take a few pounds, at the end of each pregnancy even though I started at a different weight with each. I gained 50 lbs. with my first, 23 lbs. with my second and 35 lbs.with my third. All the baby’s birth weights were within a few ounces of each other, so it didn’t seem to affect their size, nor mine. However, the weight was easier to lose after the second one was born and hardest after the third.

What about you? Do you think these are reasonable guidelines? Do you think it will change the cultural norms of eating during pregnancy?

How much weight did you gain in your pregnancy? Did your doctor give you guidelines beforehand or during your pregnancy?

Did you gain more or the same amount if you had more than one pregnancy and would you gain more or less weight if you had to do it all over again?

Were you encouraged to get or stay active during your pregnancy? Were you active and, if so, did you find it easier to lose the baby weight?