Experts recommend a weight gain of 25–35 pounds during pregnancy - but what are the risks if you gain more? In April, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) published a study showing that women who gain more than 38 pounds during pregnancy may face a 40% higher risk of developing postmenopausal breast cancer than that of women who gain less weight. "We also found that women who retain the added pounds after pregnancy are at greatest risk. These additional pounds may induce changes in breast tissue that increase susceptibility to breast cancer in later life," explained Leena Hilakivi-Clarke, Ph.D., one of the study’s investigators and associate professor of oncology at the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. "Overall, the increased risk due to pregnancy weight gain is modest - equivalent to the increased risk from obesity after menopause."