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How to tell if you’re eating enough during pregnancy

Monitoring your weight gain is a quick and simple way to assess if you are having a balanced and well-nourished diet during pregnancy.

According to Ms Kellie Kong, Dietitian from the Department of Nutrition & Dietetics at ​KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH), a member of the SingHealth group, an unbalanced diet during pregnancy can predispose your baby to chronic diseases later on in life, so aim to put on the appropriate amount of weight.

To determine how much you should gain during pregnancy:

  1. Calculate your Body Mass Index before pregnancy (Pre-Pregnancy BMI) Body Mass Index = Weight (kg) before pregnancy / Height (m) x Height (m)
  2. Refer to the table below and aim for the weekly and total weight gain corresponding to your Pre-Pregnancy BMI
​​Stages of pregnancy​Acceptable weight gain based on pre-pregnancy BMI
​​below 18.518.5 to 24.925 to 29.930 or more
1st trimester (week 1 - 12)
(Weeks 1 to 12, total weight gain in kg during this period)
0.5 - 2.00.5 - 2.00.5 - 2.00.5 - 2.0
2nd & 3rd trimesters (week 13 - 40)
(kg per week)
0.44 - 0.580.39 - 0.500.23 - 0.330.16 - 0.25
Recommended total weight gain (kg) for entire pregnancy12.7 -18.111.3 - 15.96.8 - 11.3​5.0 - 9.1

Reference: Health Promotion Board, 2012

See previous page to ​​​learn about the nutrients you need during pregnancy​.

Ref: O17​