A question about starvation & pregnancy..

[DunkinCronuts]

I'm trying to research the effects of a mother severely restricting food intake whilst pregnant. At the far end of the scale, is there any likelyhood that the developing fetus might be used as a 'food source' by the mother's body? That it in some way gives up some of it's components in order that the host body survive? My dm starved herself whilst pregnant with me. She didn't want to be pregnant.

I didn't deliberately starve in pregnancy but I had HG for the whole nine months and could barely eat. I was consistently reassured that all of the measures they took - antiemetics, fluids, signed off work to rest, etc - were purely for my benefit as the baby would get/take what it needed from me regardless.

It sounds awful but the baby acts like a parasite
In other words the baby ‘takes’ the nutrients from the mother -

that knowledge can’t be easy.

heather has it the right way round, I’m afraid.

I also had s very similar experience to EwitsAHooman

The body will prioritise the baby at all times, damage could be done to the mother's system but the baby will be as protected as possible.

heather has it the right way round for sure, I’ve heard that’s why you can crave odd things during pregnancy because the baby takes what it needs from the mother.

💐 for you, I hope you’re ok.

I threw up for my entire pregnancy, couldn't face food and weighed less at the end than I did before I got pregnant. DD was small at birth but the consultant assured me that was because she was nearly 4 weeks early and definitely not because of my lack of food.
She's now 11, the same height as me and has always been really healthy so it did her no harm.
I'm so sorry that your mum felt that way and quite angry that she told you.

As pp, the baby will take nutrients from the mother.

I had bad hg during pregnancy too and weighed less the day ds was born than when he was conceived, even with quite a sizable bump. I was all bones underneath the baby. He was totally fine though, a healthy 6lbs13oz and a week late (similar to myself and dp at birth).

Are you OK op? Are you pregnant and struggling with food?

I didn't eat a lot during my pregnancy. I had very severe sickness and struggled to eat anything.
PPs are definitely right, the baby takes everything from you anyway! I'm pretty sure that's why so many people feel so tired during pregnancy and some people lose their teeth etc. My mum once told me a friend of hers lost lots of teeth with twin pregnancies, I would imagine twins need more nutrients.

I lost weight through both my pregnancies due to feeling sick constantly and not wanting to eat. My babies both came out at term and over 8.5lbs!

No the body would never prioritise the mother over the baby, baby does act like a parasite taking everything it needs from the host, never the other way around.

Unfortunately, I think there's evidence there may be epigenetic effects - the famine in the Netherlands in WWII formed an inadvertent large scale study.

www.nytimes.com/2018/01/31/science/dutch-famine-genes.html

To further demonstrate that the baby will get what it needs, I weighed less at the end of pregnancy than I did at the start too - in my last pregnancy I was 7kg less the day of delivery and that was with baby/placenta/fluid still on board so would have been less again once they were out - and all of my babies were 9lb chubsters!

In terms of epigenetics, I think there may be some evidence to show that restricted caloric intake during pregnancy tells the foetus that times are hard out there, and that it needs to pack on as much weight as possible when food does become available. The ensuing child/adult may struggle with being overweight in later life as a result.
I've always found that a bit bleakly ironic, as I imagine that any pregnant mothers deliberately restricting food intake due to vanity reasons (disclaimer - I know most don't) would be horrified at the thought of having an overweight child.

There's a review here on the impacts of maternal undernutrition on the child - sobering stuff. Standout points include a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, although these can be offset by choices made later in the child's life (even as an adult).

Great minds, Errol!

I was incredibly unwell for my entire pregnancy with HG where my body was able to keep nothing down at all. I was getting fluids quite a lot in hospital but other than that very little of any food would have stayed down. I was very ill come the end with my own kidney function affected by the sickness and years later I'm still having issues relating to all that. Despite it all though baby was perfectly healthy born 4/5 weeks early but a very healthy over 6lb weight considering so it certainly is true that the baby takes all it needs from the mother

There is a book called fetal origins that discusses this exactly and the research around it. The upshot was there are long term lasting effects on the baby. I believe Norway was the case study during WW2 when they all starved. The chance of adults who were in the womb during those times developling serious mental health issues like schizophrenia was through the roof.

I lost weight in the first 4 months of pregnancy but visibly gained bump early on and went into maternity clothes from 8 weeks. I could barely put food in my mouth without gagging (but usually kept it down) and had very little desire to eat. I was completely exhausted.
When my appetite did return, from being sedentary for months from exhaustion then SPD making me pretty much housebound, I gained 50% of my bodyweight in less than 5 months.

DM lost weight in late pregnancy with me due to illness. My gains were masking the extent of her losses.

DS and I were both fine. I was a small, term baby but am a small adult with an extensive heritage of shortness. DS was more than 2lb heavier than me!