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How much weight should I be gaining?

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

In 2009, the Institute of Medicine issued pregnancy guidelines that included some new recommendations for weight gain. Under the updated guidelines, underweight women are advised to gain between 28-40 pounds. For normal-weight women, the recommendation is 25-35 pounds, for overweight women it’s 15-25 pounds, and for obese women it’s 11-20 pounds.

“People frequently have a misconception that they are eating for two during pregnancy, but most people need only 100-300 additional calories a day,” said Dr. Brian Sklar, an OB/GYN on the Elmhurst Memorial Hospital Medical Staff. “That’s really not a drastic increase.”

Dr. Sklar notes the reason that maintaining a healthy weight during pregnancy is so important is that too much weight gain can not only lead to pregnancy issues such as gestational diabetes, it can also be a precursor for long-term health problems such as heart disease and diabetes later in life. On the other hand, too little weight gain increases the risk of stunted fetal growth or preterm deliveries.

Click here to view the report from the Institute of Medicine.

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Take time to celebrate

Monday, March 15th, 2010

We understand that that the first few days of welcoming a new member to your family can be chaotic. While you’re with us, we want to make sure you have at least a little bit of time to celebrate and enjoy the moment.

To help our new moms do that, we’ve started preparing an elegant three-course meal for you and a guest and will serve it to you in your room. We consider it a privilege to be a part of this very special time in your life, and this celebration lunch is our gift to you. Enjoy!

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Sex? During pregnancy? Why not?

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

As long as your pregnancy is proceeding normally, Dr. Marco Martinez, an OB/GYN with the Elmhurst Clinic, says there is no harm in having sex – which often comes as a relief to both mom and dad-to-be.

He says the question comes up frequently but men and women typically have different perspectives. Men are often worried about causing harm to the baby while women are usually concerned about pre-term labor.

To the men, Dr. Martinez says relax. Having sex will not affect your baby, who is protected by amniotic fluid and the mucous plug. To the women, he reassures them that in general there is nothing to say that sex will cause pre-term labor and sex has not been proven to cause early miscarriages.

Medically speaking, Dr. Martinez says if there is no bleeding or contractions, you should be OK. If you and your partner have the desire, go ahead. However, he does recommend talking about it with a physician to make sure there are no other concerns that are specific to your situation.

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