How long will it take for me to get back into my pre-pregnancy body? This is a concern for many, many new mothers. To answer this question, understand that the most important indicator of postpartum weight retention is weight gain during pregnancy. Underweight women need to gain a little more while over weight women need to gain a little less, but the average woman should expect to put on an additional 25 to 35 pounds. Your physician should be able to recommend an accurate target number based on your Body Mass Index, but can also use this pregnancy weight gain calculator for a quick estimate.

25 to 35 pounds of weight gain may seem like a scary number, but it’s not as bad as you think.
The MayoClinic provides a detailed breakdown of where these pounds will go:
- Baby: 7 to 8 pounds
- Larger breasts: 1 to 3 pounds
- Larger uterus: 2 pounds
- Placenta: 1 1/2 pounds
- Amniotic fluid: 2 pounds
- Increased blood volume: 3 to 4 pounds
- Increased fluid volume: 2 to 3 pounds
- Fat stores: 6 to 8 pounds

You can expect to lose 10 to 12 pounds immediately after labor, consisting of your newborn, placenta, and amniotic fluid. Subsequently, your body will naturally decrease its blood and fluid volume that accounts for another 5 to 7 pounds. This is a grand total of 15 to 19 pounds your body will shed naturally.

The remaining items on the list now total 9 to 13 pounds, only one third of your total weight gain, concentrated in your breasts, uterus, and fat stores. Not so bad, is it?

By the time you reach your 6 week postpartum checkup, you’ll be ready to begin working off this remaining weight. At the rate of 1 pound weight loss per week, you’ll be back in your pre-pregnancy body 2 to 3 months after your 6 week checkup.

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