IMMEDIATE weight loss after birth

  • Thread starter Thread starter Smfarnsworth
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Loss Weight
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the immediate weight loss experienced by women after giving birth, exploring the factors influencing weight changes and retention. It includes personal anecdotes, theoretical comparisons, and considerations of physiological processes involved in postpartum weight changes.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant presents a hypothetical scenario about a woman weighing 10 stones 7 pounds before giving birth and questions whether she would weigh 10 stones or 10 stones 7 pounds immediately after delivery.
  • Another participant argues that the woman's weight would remain at 10 stones, drawing a parallel to a scenario involving a woman dropping a brick of the same weight.
  • A different participant shares a personal experience of weighing 142 pounds before and after giving birth, attributing the unchanged weight to water retention and breast milk production.
  • This participant provides an estimate of weight loss immediately after delivery, suggesting that women typically lose around 12 pounds from the baby, placenta, and fluids, but may not return to pre-pregnancy weight for some time.
  • They also mention the potential for further weight loss due to increased urination and perspiration in the days following childbirth, noting variability based on individual circumstances.
  • Another participant expresses disappointment at the idea that weight might not change as expected, referencing the earlier analogy of birds in a van.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on whether immediate weight loss occurs after childbirth, with some asserting that weight remains constant while others provide evidence of significant weight loss. The discussion does not reach a consensus on the matter.

Contextual Notes

Factors such as water retention, individual physiological responses, and the timing of weight measurements are acknowledged but not fully resolved in the discussion.

Smfarnsworth
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Hi,

In a similar vein to the weight of flying birds in a sealed van etc.

Let's say a woman weighs exactly 10 stones 7 pounds on the morning she is due to give birth. She starts to dilate etc. and heads to hospital. She gives birth to a beautiful baby girl weighing in at exactly 7 pounds. Seconds after doing so the woman leaps off the bed and weighs herself again. Will she weight 10 stones or 10 stones 7 pounds - and why?

Obviously if she now only weighs 10 stones I can work that one out!

This is causing much heated debate in our household so your insight would be appreciated (unless I'm proved wrong)

Cheers

Stephen
 
Biology news on Phys.org
Hi Stephen

She will weigh 10 stones for the same reason that a ten stone woman with a seven pound brick will weigh 10 stones after she drops the brick.
 
I weighed 142 pounds when I gave birth, I weighed myself after I gave birth, still weighed 142 pounds. The doctor said it was due to extreme water retention and the added breast milk.

The amount a woman that just gave birth can expect to lose.

How much weight will I lose right after giving birth?

You probably won't return to your pre-pregnancy weight for some time, but you will lose a significant amount of weight immediately after delivery. Subtracting one 7- to 8-pound baby, about a pound or so of placenta, and another few pounds of blood and amniotic fluid leaves most new moms about 12 pounds lighter.

The weight keeps coming off, too. All the extra water your cells retained during pregnancy, along with fluid from the extra blood you had in your pregnant body, will be looking for a way out.
So you'll produce more urine than usual in the days after birth – an astounding 3 quarts a day. You may perspire a lot, too. By the end of the first week, you'll likely lose about 4 to 6 pounds of water weight. (The amount varies depending on how much water you retained during pregnancy.)

http://www.babycenter.com/body-changes-after-childbirth

Don't be surprised if your actual weight loss is not as large.
 
Well that's annoying! I was rather hoping that like the birds in the van, the weight would remain constant!

Thank you...
 

Similar threads

Can a diabetic mother give birth to a 16-pound baby?
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
What to Do if You Encounter a Possible Psychopath? Report?
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
4K
COVID Reaction to COVID-19 Vaccine (or what to be prepared for)
  • · Replies 287 ·
10
Replies
287
Views
28K
Graph the weight gain and loss during the pregnancy
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
Graduate String Theory and Evidence of the Multiverse
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
6K
Tesseract, Aether, Orb from parallel Marvel Universe
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K
Undergrad Debunking the Myth: Birds in a Truck Riddle Explained by Basic Physics
  • · Replies 16 ·
Replies
16
Views
10K
Can You Solve These College Physics Problems on Energy and Momentum?
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
12K
Challenge Math Challenge - December 2018
  • · Replies 67 ·
3
Replies
67
Views
16K
Graduate Is Renate Loll's Approach to Quantum Gravity the Key to Unifying Physics?
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
5K