Most pregnant women need only between 2,500 and 2,700 daily calories to meet their energy requirements, according to the University of Illinois McKinley Health Center. That's just 300 calories more than your normal requirements, depending on your height and activity. Eat significantly more than that, and you could trigger problems for you and your baby.
Gestational Diabetes
Overeating during pregnancy increases your risk of developing gestational diabetes. This is a temporary, but serious, condition that occurs in about 3 to 8 percent of all pregnancies in the U.S., according to the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. Overweight women are more at risk of getting diabetes. If you take on too many calories, particularly from sugary foods, this too can increase your chances of developing gestational diabetes. Effects of gestational diabetes may include high birth weight and breathing problems for the baby, and increased chance of high blood pressure and need for Cesarean delivery for the mother.
Birth Weight
Overeating when you're pregnant may also make your newborn bigger. Researchers working on behalf of the U.S. National Institute of Health studied the birth weights of 1.1 million babies from 513,000 mothers. Women who put on 53 pounds had babies 0.3 pounds heavier than babies from mothers who put on just 22 pounds, according to an Associated Press report on MSNBC. While a healthy birth weight gives a newborn a good start in life, the larger the baby, the more likely he is to experience obesity later in life.
Constipation
As your baby grows, she starts to put pressure on your stomach, and a larger baby creates more pressure. By the third trimester, your stomach has moved up toward your chest cavity. You may find that you can't eat as much as you could before pregnancy in one sitting. This extra pressure on your stomach and your bowels make constipation a common condition during pregnancy. Drinking more water throughout the day and eating less can help prevent bouts of painful constipation.
Heartburn
The extra pressure on your digestive system when pregnant can trigger acid reflux, or heartburn. This occurs when stomach acids rise back up into the soft esophagus in your throat, causing a burning feeling. Overeating can cause more heartburn when pregnant. The more often your stomach remains full, the more likely the contents are to spill back into the esophagus. Eating smaller portions less frequently can reduce the load on the stomach.
