No more eating for two: Study squashes popular pregnancy myth

 

Every pregnant woman will hear the phrase, 'eating for two' at least once during the nine months.

 

However, a new study has dispelled the myth once and for all.

 

In light of the study's evidence, midwife representatives are calling for their staff to be given guidelines on how to help expectant mothers manage their weight.

 

 

The study published in the journal, Diabetologia, found that the offspring of a woman who gained too much weight during pregnancy, risked more health complications later in childhood.

 

These include high blood pressure and insulin resistance. 

 

Professor Wing Hung Tam, the co-author of the study said expectant mothers need more information surrounding the health impacts to their children of gaining excessive weight during their pregnancy. 

 

“We need to educate the mother – it is not just [a] big [baby] they would have and now we have some evidence that it will affect the baby’s future.”

 

However, the professor did add that pregnant women shouldn't start weighing themselves routinely every other week. 

 

 

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists guidelines recommend that during the first two trimesters, extra energy is not needed, and only 200 additional calories a day should be consumed during the last three months of pregnancy. 

 

Tam and the team of researchers collected their data by following 905 pairs of mothers and their children in Hong Kong.