How Much Weight Does a Baby Gain Before Birth?
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First Trimester
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Babies gain weight throughout the entire pregnancy. The pregnancy itself is broken down into three stages, referred to as trimesters. Each trimester is 3 months long. Knowing the stage can help you follow the development of your child. In the first trimester, many things start happening, but weight gain is not really one of them. The fetus is formed and the sex is determined, but the fetus is only about 2 1/2 inches long and only weighs 1/2 oz.
Second Trimester
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During the second trimester tissue is created that will become bones. The sex of the child can be seen by a trained professional and the weight is now 1 1/2 oz. After the bones grow and fat begins to build up the weight is 7 oz. and length is about 5 inches. The halfway mark of the second trimester is also the halfway mark of the pregnancy. The baby starts to move at this point and can be felt in the womb because it weighs around 11 oz. At the end of the second trimester, the organs are still growing and the weight is about 2 lbs.
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Third Trimester
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During the third trimester, the lungs and liver are some of the last organs to develop completely. Around 34 weeks the child will weigh 4 lbs. and his bones are done growing. Starting around Week 36 the baby will put on weight at a rate of half a pound a week. By the end of the third term the average weight is about 7 1/2 lbs.
Variations
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Smoking, drinking, and other harmful substances, such as drugs, can cause the baby's weight to be less than the norm. It can also cause a child to be born prematurely. Diabetes, gestational or not, can cause the child to be above the normal weight parameters.
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