One of the most exciting times in pregnancy is when a woman can announce her bun in the oven to the world — and she can stop blaming that pooch on a food baby and let every know that it is a real baby.

But some women go beyond the normal baby bump and put on major weight during the nine months of pregnancy. They indulge in cravings and take advantage of the time in their lives when there is no pressure at all to be thin. In fact, Blac Chyna famously announced last year, when she became pregnant with daughter Dream, that she had a goal of gaining 100 pounds. She didn't gain that much, but she did pack on some serious pounds, which she is currently working to lose.

At a time when woman will feel hunger like she never has before, we can understand the temptation to ignore the scale and give in. But there are dangers to gaining too much weight during pregnancy. As Jessica Simpson learned the hard way, it's more difficult to get off the weight than many expect, but the drawbacks merely start there. The health implications can be dramatic, both during the pregnancy and for years afterward.

To help women understand why they need to put down that second cupcake, here are 15 facts about gaining serious weight during pregnancy.

15 It's Harder To Get Off

Let's start with the biggest fear of most moms — putting on extra pregnancy weight makes it difficult to take it off. Celebrities have spoiled us with the idea that pregnancy weight can melt off within weeks of the baby's birth, but for those of us without chefs, personal trainers and nannies, it isn't so easy.

Women who stick to the recommended weight gain are often ahead of the game because by the time the baby and the placenta are out and the excess blood and water are gone, a mom usually drops about 15 pounds within a couple of weeks of birth. For a normal weight gain, that is often about halfway there, and breastfeeding can help with those last pounds. But if a woman put on 70 pounds, she still has 50 to go at this point, which can be about a third of her pregnancy weight. That's a lot of calorie counting and hours on the treadmill. It's better to be sensible and stick to the recommended amount.

14 Gestational Diabetes

Weight gain isn't also linked to gestational diabetes, but it could be. According to a 2010 research study, excessive weight gain can give a woman an increased chance of having the pregnancy complication, which can cause many problems for the baby and the mother, including a risk of stillbirth.

The biggest risk comes when the scale goes up quickly during the first trimester. During those first three months, the scale should barely move, but if it goes up dramatically, it could increase the risk for gestational diabetes by as much as 50 percent.

Gestational diabetes can happen to any woman, although being overweight to begin with does increase the chance. It could develop into type 2 diabetes after the birth, and it could also cause the baby to be at risk for diabetes later on. Women can control their blood sugar during pregnancy, usually with diet and maybe medication, but it's better to not get the condition in the first place.

13 Big Mom, Bigger Baby

In general, the bigger a mom-to-be gets during pregnancy, the bigger the baby will get, although there are exceptions. That means that women who pack on the pregnancy are more than likely going to end up with a big baby. We're not talking 8 pounds big — we're talking 12 pounds or so.

On average, babies at birth are somewhere around 7 pounds. Anything over 8 pounds 13 ounces is considered a large baby and given the technical term of macrosomia. Some women equate a big baby as a healthy baby, but that isn't always the case. In addition to rapid weight gain, women who are of advanced maternal age, who have had a baby in the past and are expecting a boy are also at a higher likelihood of having macrosomia.

The excess pounds on the baby can make him vulnerable for obesity as a child and as an adult, so the weight gain matters.

12 Baby Could Get Stuck

Another terrible risk for babies who are bigger is that they could get stuck in the birth canal. Some women have smaller hips and pelvises, and research has shown that pelvis size may be decreasing on the whole. But if the pelvis is smaller and the baby is bigger, that isn't a good combination for a natural disaster.

During the delivery, the baby could get stuck to the point where the oxygen is cut off and the baby could  suffer brain damage. It's also possible that the baby's head is delivered but the shoulders get stuck, and as the doctor helps guide the baby out, there is a possibility that the shoulder could get twisted and the baby could lose part of its use of the hand.

These delivery complications can be devastating to the baby's health, and they could also cause issues with the mother, causing her to tear more and have a harder recovery. No one wants to start off the baby's life with pain, but that is a real possibility with serious weight gain.

11 C-section Risk

One of the reasons for the increase in C-section rates across the United State in the past several decades is because of the increased size of babies. In fact, research has shown a link to C-sections and smaller pelvises in women, which will compound the problem with a bigger baby. While ultrasounds can be unreliable on predicting the baby's size, any doctor that sees a 10-pounder on the way is likely to recommend a C-section as a safer option, due to all the risks that we talked about with the baby getting stuck.

Many moms-to-be often worry they won't be able to deliver a big baby, and more than one mom has had to head to the operating room because of deliver problems with getting the big guy out. There are worse things than having a C-section to deliver the baby, but having one C-section means that future children may have to be delivered the same way, and at a certain point that becomes dangerous and could limit the size of the family. It's something to think about when reaching for another bag of potato chips.

10 Preeclampsia

Packing on the pounds in pregnancy is one thing, but if a woman gains a drastic amount of weight in a very short time it could be a sign that something else is wrong. Usually that weight isn't put on by eating. It comes from the drastic swelling that can happen all of a sudden. If a doctor notices it, he's going to have an eye out for preeclampsia.

While most women do gain more weight in the final trimester, it's the sudden increase that is the cue — and a woman should be especially mindful to let the doctor know if she isn't understanding her weight increase. Usually a simple urine test to evaluate the ketones will give the answer, and if it is positive, the baby will have to be delivered immediately. Preeclampsia is very serious, and a women needs serious medical attention right away or the mom or the baby are at risk.

9 Where The Weight Goes

Most women expect that the weight that they can during pregnancy to go to the baby bump — after all, that is where the baby and the amniotic fluid and the placenta is. But no one gives birth to a 30-pound baby, so there are a lot of other places where the weight will go.

Women will have extra blood and extra water weight during pregnancy, but that doesn't account for it all either. A portion will go to the breasts, where extra fat can help in the production of milk, and the milk that can come in early can also feel like an extra weight. More pounds will go to the hips, as they expand to get ready for childbirth.

Probably the most surprising spot to gain weight during pregnancy is the feet. Many women end up going up a whole shoe size during pregnancy, and after long days, it is where the swelling will pool up and make it impossible to wear anything other than flip flops.

Women who gain excess weight could also see it going to the thighs and buttocks or even the arms, if they aren't careful. Too many cheeseburgers can build extra fat all over.

8 Starting Weight Class

We've mentioned the recommended average weight gain, which is typically between 25 and 35 pounds. But that average is for a woman who begins a normal pregnancy at a healthy weight. There are other factors that could change the definition of "serious weight gain."

In fact, a woman who is overweight to begin the pregnancy, should do her best to stick to around 15 pounds, while a woman who is underweight will have more room grow. She could probably stand to gain between 35 and 50 pounds during the pregnancy, and that gain could help her return to a more healthy weight when the pregnancy is over.

The starting weight is important in determining how a woman should gain during her pregnancy, but in the end, it is all about eating healthy foods to provide nutrition for the baby. The scale can help guide a woman along that path, and it can help her resist the temptation to go overboard.

7 Adjust For Age

Another thing for women to consider when they worry about pregnancy weight is how old they are during their pregnancy. Age isn't the only factor in gaining and losing weight, but it does get harder to lose weight when a woman is older, so a mom in her 30s has to think differently that a mom in her 20s, who may be able to diet for a few months and get rid of 60 pounds in a snap.

One surprising fact, though, is that teenagers should actually put on more weight than the recommendation for most women. That is because many teenagers are still growing, and they could need those extra calories to allow for their own growth on top of the calories that are needed for the growth of their little one. The scale could start to tip more as they add to their height and the weight, after all. A teenage mom may never return to her starting pregnancy weight, but she could still have no problem snapping back to the healthy weight of a woman her size with little to no problem, even if she gains some major weight during her pregnancy.

6 Multiples Matter

Ever seen the baby bump of a triplet mom in the third trimester? She usually looks like she is going to fall over. Google Kate Gosselin's baby bump with her sextuplets and any singleton mom will feel instantly better about her extra large baby bump. That's because moms of multiples have special reasons to gain serious pregnancy weight.

Compared to the normal 25 to 35 pounds for a singleton, a mom of twins should shoot for 35 to 45. Between the babies and the amniotic fluid and placenta and stuff, she could lose 30 pounds within a couple of weeks of birth, so she doesn't have to worry about so much about a 50-pound gain.

A triplet mom should gain 50 to 60 pounds, if she makes it to nine months, and even more babies mean even serious pounds. Moms of multiples sometimes have a hard time keeping up with all of the extra calories they need to consume to support their growing babies. For them, serious weight gain has a different definition.

5 Trimester Tonnage

Sometimes women don't think about weight gain by trimester, and that is how they end up gaining serious weight without meaning to. In the first trimester, for example, the cravings are at their peak, but the baby is still the size of a pea. So a mom only really needs an extra 200 calories a day or so. She shouldn't gain much weight, if any, in those first three months, but many women have already gained 10 or 15 pounds by the time those 12 weeks or over.

In the second trimester, the baby is starting to gain weight, but if the trajectory of serious weight gain has already begun, many women sail past the one pound per week recommendation. They should only gain about 12 to 14 pounds, but that can be hard to stick to. By the final trimester, the baby is going to start growing much bigger. And a woman could stand to gain another 10 to 15 pounds, but she may already have her suggested weight gain in the mirror.

Thinking about weight gain by trimester may help a mom-to-be control the pounds, and we hope it helps her keep her weight gain in check.

4 Empty Calories

Yes, women need to gain weight during pregnancy, but the truth is that even if a woman gains three or four times more than the recommended amount of weight she could still be missing out on important nutrients that her baby needs for proper growth and development.

Most women, no matter the diet, don't eat enough folic acid to avoid the risks of neural tube defects, and few consume enough healthy fats that help the brain. That is, they don't consume the nutrients in their diet. Instead, doctors recommend that women take prenatal vitamins to make sure that the right nutrients are in good supply.

Women who gain excess weight shouldn't be lulled into complacency thinking that they are eating enough. If they aren't eating the right things, there could be consequences of skipping the vitamins.

3 Stretch Mark Situation

Stretch marks can come any time that a person gains weight rapidly. It happens for plenty of kids in adolescence, so many women worry that packing on the pregnancy pounds could leave them marked for the rest of their lives.

There is some truth to that — without the weight gain, women wouldn't get the stretch marks. But if a woman gains a normal amount of weight, there is no telling whether she will get them or not. More than the number on the scale, the presence of stretch marks during pregnancy is often a matter of genetics, as women whose mothers got stretch marks are more likely to get them as well.

But if a woman gains an outrageous amount of weight, she may also be putting herself through it, since gaining weight quickly is what causes the marks, which start out red or purple. During pregnancy, the stretch marks are usually limited to the stomach and breasts, which are the main points that stretch. But if a woman gains excess weight, they could also go to buttocks, hips, thighs — the same places the pounds will go.

2 Uncomfortable And Out Of Control

The third trimester of pregnancy is undoubtedly one of the most uncomfortable times in a woman life. The baby bump interferes with the center of gravity, puts strain on the back and makes it hard to find a comfortable position to sleep in — and that is when a woman gains the recommended amount of weight. If she goes beyond that into some serious poundage, an uncomfortable situation can get out of control.

A 30-pound baby bump is one thing, but with 70 extra pounds a mom's internal temperature can keep her sweating all day and all night. Her belly will stretch so much that the itching will be uncontrollable, and the work it takes to get out of the bed will be enough to make her consider getting a bed pan and staying a while. It isn't fun to have to wield a baby bump that is more like a camel hump — more like a basketball team than a basketball. It can make 40 weeks feel like 40 years, so a woman should strive to keep more in the normal range and the normal amount of pain.

1 Not Kidding Around

While many pregnant women think that their pregnancy weight gain only reflects on them, it turns out that it could be a big problem for the baby as he grows up. Babies that start out large could be just fine. But if it leads to childhood obesity, it could also lead to a lifetime of health problems.

An overweight kid sometimes struggles to ever find a healthy lifestyle. It can mean health problems even at a young age, as well as issues with fitting in at school and facing bullies. Then, kids with childhood obesity are more liking to be overweight or obese as adults, and that could mean even more health concerns like diabetes.

Pregnant women have a lot of temptations, including incredible cravings. But packing on the pounds can have implications far beyond the nine months of pregnancy or even the baby's first year of life. Women should be able to indulge a little during this period of their lives, but they may want to think twice before eating that second bowl of ice cream.

Sources: Baby Med, FitPregnancy, Parents, Mama Natural