According to the American Pregnancy Association women should gain on average 25 to 32 pounds during pregnancy.

Ob-Gyn Richard Bloy explains, “You can think that mothers metabolism has increased by at least 50% and almost one and a half of the blood volume they would normally have, their heart and lungs are working more so they need at least one and a half times the fuel or food nutrients.”

Dr. Bloy says that weight gain is inevitable and necessary, during a woman’s pregnancy but there is a secret ingredient to stable weight gain for both the mother and child. “For both, the key agent is protein the baby is building all of their system so the protein in the diet is the most important.”

We’ve all heard of mothers-to-be craving pickles and ice cream or some other crazy concoction, but just where so these odd cravings come from? Dr. Bloy tells us, “During pregnancy all of the mothers hormones are considerably accelerated so it’s no wonder their craving foods like pickles and chocolates.”

Doctors also noted that the more overweight a woman is before becoming pregnant the less weight they should gain.

Doctors also recommend a diet with low or no salt to help with weight associated with water gain and high blood pressure.