What is a skinny pregnancy?
Being “skinny pregnant” can mean different things to different people, as this isn't a medical term, but typically implies only putting on weight in a small pregnancy bump while the rest of your body appears unchanged.
If you are underweight (your BMI is 18.5 or less), you may have problems getting pregnant. Being underweight can cause your body to stop making estrogen. This can cause irregular menstrual cycles. You may stop ovulating and getting your period.
Underweight (with a pre-pregnancy BMI of <18.5) should aim for 12.5 – 18 kg. Healthy weight (with a pre-pregnancy BMI of 18.5 – 24.9) should aim for 11.5 – 16 kg. Overweight (with a pre-pregnancy BMI of 25 – 29.9) should aim for 6.8 – 11.3 kg. Obese (with a pre-pregnancy BMI of >30) should aim for 5 – 9.1 kg.
Having a BMI below 18.5 is classed as underweight, which can make it harder to get pregnant. Having a low BMI can also cause your periods to become irregular or stop. This can be a sign that you are not ovulating (releasing an egg from your ovary each month), which is needed to get pregnant.
For first-time pregnancies, the baby bump may appear during the second trimester, at 12–16 weeks. Those with a narrow body frame and little fat tend to show sooner. For people who are curvy or heavier, the baby bump may be more pronounced late in the second trimester or in the third trimester.
| If before pregnancy, you were… | You should gain… |
|---|---|
| Underweight BMI less than 18.5 | 28-40 pounds |
| Normal Weight BMI 18.5-24.9 | 25-35 pounds |
| Overweight BMI 25.0-29.9 | 15-25 pounds |
| Obese BMI greater than or equal to 30.0 | 11- 20 pounds |
Men whose AGD is shorter than the median length -- around 2 inches -- have seven times the chance of being sub-fertile as those with a longer AGD, a study finds. When it comes to male fertility, it turns out that size does matter.
Quickening is when a woman first feels her baby move. This usually occurs between the 18th and 20th week of pregnancy. Thin women feel the baby move sooner than overweight women. Early in pregnancy women may describe a "fluttering," a "nudge," a "butterfly," or a slight "twitch."
Shorter mothers have shorter pregnancies, smaller babies, and higher risk for a preterm birth. New research has found that a mother's height directly influences her risk for preterm birth.
Mother's birth weight
While the father's height and weight are important, it appears that the mother's weight at birth plays a key role in the final weight of the baby. Women who are overweight are more likely to give birth to a larger than the average baby.
What should pregnancy weight gain look like?
"For women with a normal BMI (18.5 to 24.9), we recommend about 25 to 35 pounds of pregnancy weight gain," she says. Underweight women have a little more leeway and can gain between 28 and 40 pounds.
When you are pregnant, you should reconsider the normal notions of how small or large your body should be. Because "skinny" is a relative term, it means something different to every person. With such a loose definition of skinny, it's up to you and your doctor to decide the safest weight gain while you are pregnant.
In general, an infant born at term is considered underweight when their weight-for-age measurement is in the 5th percentile or less. (This is not necessarily the case if your baby was born premature or with certain health conditions.)