(CBS) CHICAGO Government figures show more than half of women today are overweight -- or even obese -- before they get pregnant. As CBS 2's Medical Editor Mary Ann Childers reports. the extra weight could be setting the stage for future problems. Thirty-one year-old Lisa Bitos has never weighed more than 100 pounds. Now. in the 9th month of her first pregnancy." says Bitos.While 40 pounds may be healthy for someone as small as Bitos. one expert believes most pregnant women gain too much weight."For too many years we have told pregnant women. be confined and eat for two. a maternal-fetal health specialist at St. Louis University.Current guidelines from the Institute of Medicine recommend that women of normal weight gain 25 to 35 pounds. underweight women up to 40 pounds and overweight women between 15 to 25 pounds. But those guidelines are 20 years old. The average woman today gains 30 pounds. And there's growing evidence most women should gain less. "The emphasis. should be on individualizing." Artal said.Artal says women today are much more active and as long as tests show the fetus is growing as expected. women should focus simply on eating healthy -- not eating for two. Excess weight increases the risk of complications such as diabetes and high blood pressure. And the extra pounds may be programming children for obesity. Harvard researchers found that women who gained the currently recommended amount of weight were more likely to have overweight children by age 3. Bitos. who stopped strenuous workouts at 7 months. says 40 pounds is the limit. After her baby's born. she says she'll be back at the gym. "I have this goal that I will lose it within a month." says Bitos.The Institute of Medicine. which is part of the National Academy of Sciences. held a 2-day workshop last month to re-examine the impact of pregnancy weight on maternal and child health. Its report. which is likely to include new weight recommendations. is due out this fall.
"For too many years we have told pregnant women. be confined and eat for two. a maternal-fetal health specialist at St. Louis University.



Pregnancy