To ask about weight loss during pregnancy

[elm26]

I'm 28 weeks pregnant and I weighed myself for the first time since the midwife did it at my booking appointment at 8 weeks and I'm 2kg under what I was then.

I've had hyperemesis and have mostly lived on picking at fresh fruit, plain pasta, crackers and ginger biscuits for the past 21-22 weeks.

I'm now really worried as I'm actually a tiny bit less than I was pre pregnancy but if baby weighs on average 2lb at this stage plus fluid, that means I'm probably a good 4lb under my pre pregnancy weight.

I barely have an appetite and I often have to go and vomit half way through dinner in the evening.

I spoke to midwife last week as I had an upset stomach 3-4 times a day for a good week and she said "don't worry about baby as long as you're not dehydrated".

Has anyone else experienced the same? Was baby okay?

Putting this as nicely as possible, babies in utero are little parasites. They take whatever they need and leave the rest for you. So unless you are severely malnourished the baby will be fine. In fact it’s been many years since weight was regularly measured during pregnancy ( always at booking though).

Try not to stress, eat what and when you can and take a decent supplement. If you are anaemic your midwife will sort out an iron supplement.

If you still feel worried just ask your midwife at each appointment so she can reassure you. If she has any concerns she’ll refer you for a growth scan.

Best wishes and fingers crossed you’ll feel better soon.

@MatildaTheCat thanks so much.

I'm seeing MW on Wednesday so will chat to her then. I also take iron, ferritin and vitamin D every day.

I have a scan at 31 weeks as placenta has been covering my cervix so hopefully they'll check baby over then too.

Thanks x

Baby will be fine. Like pp said, they take exactly what they need from you and you get what’s left. I ended both of my pregnancies weighing less than when I started. I always joked being pregnant was the best diet for me.

I grow small babies anyway but they were both healthy weights. Just over 6lb. I had loss of fluid with dd2 but that was nothing do with me loosing weight (I was obese during both pregnancies).

I honestly wouldn't worry about it. As long as you're not losing huge amounts of weight it will be fine.

I had Gestational Diabetes so had to eat really healthily and actually ended up lighter when I gave birth than when I got pregnant and it wasn't a concern.

I lost 3kg in the first 6 months of my pregnancy. By the end I was 5lb heavier than when I found out I was pregnant. Baby was born at 38 weeks weighing 7lb4 and perfectly healthy.

Hyperemesis is rotten. I had it in both of my pregnancies and weighed less at 9 months than I did prior to falling pregnant. As PP said, the baby is like a parasite and will take everything they need. Both my babies were a good size - 8lb 4 and 7lb 10.

My best friend had something similar in her second pregnancy and lost weight all the way through her pregnancy.

She could only stomach crisps, crackers, salad bits and some fruit and the odd bit of cheese.

The midwife said that as she was over-weight to begin with this wouldn't cause any problems as the baby would take what it needed and her body would respond. It would apparently only be a concern if the mother had a low BMI to begin with.

Sure enough once the baby was born (very healthy baby!) she actually ended up less than her pre-pregnancy weight.

My mum lost about 3 stone in the first 4 months of pregnancy owing to pregnancy sickness.

It stopped around 7 months and my sister was nearly 10lb.

They take all they need so just do the best you can.

I was very overweight in my second pregnancy btw and only gained 11lb and was lighter the day after giving birth than at booking in.

I lost 2 stone while pg with DD, fortunately I had excess weight to use.
My mw told me to take multivitamins and then just eat what I wanted when I wanted it.
DD was 7lbs 10 and healthy
With DS I lost about half a stone and he was 10 lbs
In both cases I put it back on within 6 months

I was lighter at 40 weeks pregnant than I was at my booking in appointment. I had a massive bump, but had lost weight from everywhere else.

To be clear, I was carrying 8lb of baby, all the fluid, placenta etc etc, and was still around 4lb lighter than 31 weeks ago. Fist time I weighed myself post birth (maybe around the 5 day mark) I was around 1.5 stone lighter than pre-pregnancy.

No one was in any way concerned. Fair enough I had the weight to lose (I was overweight on BMI), but I had hypermesis at one stage, and was sick at least once per day until the day I gave birth.

Unless you're near or currently underweight I really wouldn't worry - the baby will take what it needs and will leave you feeling horrendous, which isn't great for you but it's temporary! The nausea turned off like a switch the second they whipped the placenta out.

Definitely mention it as they will keep an eye on your baby, but I'm sure everything is fine and the baby (I also called mine the parasite) is taking all the nutrients instead of you!

I had hyperemesis with both pregnancies. Really badly.

I lost two stone the first time and one stone the second (I was considerably slimmer the second time around anyway). No one was worried about me not eating - it was the dehydration that was the issue. Are you managing to drink?

My boys are perfect. My eldest is on the smaller side but I don't think it's because of the HG.

Please try not to worry. Your baby will be taking everything it needs from you.

As a pp said, a baby in utero is a parasite and will take everything they need from your body, no matter how little you’re eating. I was sick on average 15 times a day from week 5 until an hour before I gave birth to DD and my diet was way worse than yours as I couldn’t stomach fruit or veg. I was 3.5 stones lighter than my pre pregnancy weight after I gave birth and DD was perfectly fine.

I lost weight with all my pregnancies especially the one when I had HG, but still lost with the others.

My last baby, no HG, put on 11lbs and baby weighed 8lbs.

Nothing to worry about.