Q&A: Does eating a lot in the 3rd trimester mean I will have an overweight baby?
Q Does eating a lot in the last weeks of pregnancy mean you will have an overweight baby?
A Eating a lot in the last few weeks of pregnancy does not necessarily mean you will have an overweight baby. Though the wrong foods may cause the mother to become overweight. Generally mothers cannot eat large amounts of food during the last month of pregnancy due to the fact that their stomachs will not hold as much as it did prior to pregnancy. During this time, the baby takes up most of the room in the abdominal cavity and the mother must eat several small meals a day or she is likely to get indigestion and/or nausea.
Furthermore, it is the baby's genetic make up that will determine his/her size. The general belief is that a baby takes from the mother, what s/he needs to develop and thrive. And in the last month of gestation s/he will probably put on 4-8 oz a week, but could gain as much as a pound a week. The average baby weighs 7 1/2 pounds at delivery.
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The exception to this is a condition know as Gestational Diabetes. This is a metabolic disorder in the pregnant mother in which not enough insulin is produced in her pancreas, and there is too much glucose or sugar circulating through her body. This condition can produce large babies, that is a baby weighing around 10 pounds.
Anne Sommers, LM
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Anne Sommers, LM is a Licensed Midwife in Southern California and founder of Agape Perinatal Consultation & Birthing Services. Anne has attended and personally delivered hundreds of beautiful bouncing babies in some very wonderful and natural settings -- like in the water! She has appeared on various Southern California radio and cable television shows, talked to birth organizations, was editor for several child birth publications and was the owner, editor and publisher of "Mom" Magazine, a quarterly publication in circulation for over seven years. She completed Seattle Midwifery School's Challenge Process and the NARM exam (supervised by the California Medical Board) qualifying her for midwifery licensure. Anne actually made history as noted in the Orange County Register for being one of Southern California's first Licensed Midwives. She is also the mother of two children, born at home, with the attendance of midwives. 
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