August 2021 - Scans and booking in!

[BertieBotts]

Continuation of August 2021 thread :)

@StepOutOfLine why would I feel the need to lie about this? I don't live in mainland Italy, I live on an island, as it is a payment service they generally come to your home, this service is not being offered to me and so the lady asked if I had friends or family near to her to use their home (which I don't) and so she told me this would have to be done in her home. I find it funny that this is the way it works as however you look at it, it's not overly professional, but I am writing anonymously in a group online talking about my experience as it is and asking for advice not to be judged, basically called a liar, or to be getting involved in Italian politics.

@diamante11 I believe what you're saying and see where you're coming from 💐 Please don't get stressed out. I think it's perfectly possible that you have a licensed Harmony professional operating this way where you are. I'm sure everything will be in order and both you and her will take care of this. Hope you get your results swiftly too xx

@PurplePansy05 thank you ❤️

Can't remember if I joined this thread or not , I was on one of the other due in august groups , am 14 weeks and due august the 7th, still feeling very rough and throwing up , not sleeping well either.

Deciding whether to go for the Kally body pillow or the bb hug me , big price difference but think Bb hug me would work great as breastfeeding pillow as well but it is very expensive don't know if I can justify it.. hmm

@Surreymum89 Hello! I have the Kally one (U shaped), it can be used as a bf pillow too if this helps xx

Silly question too: what do the two numbers mean eg 12 + 3? I was told at my last scan (you get a very early one in Indian private healthcare, at 6-9 weeks) that I was 6 weeks, but not sure how that translates intro the two numbers. Sorry for such stupid questions...

@DeusEx it's weeks & days, so I'm currently 11+6, 12 tomorrow x

Oh I seeeee. Thank you so much. In which case I am 11 + 1 and counting down the days to the end of trimester one when hopefully this nausea and constant tiredness will stop!

@PurplePansy05 Great news, and that you got a bonus scan! How lovely ☺️

Welcome @surreymum89, and sorry you are still feeling so awful ☹️ The glowing second trimester seems to be a bit of a myth!! (Sorry @DeusEx 😣)

@diamante11 good luck with the Harmony test - you will feel such peace of mind after getting the results. Hope the process of getting the test does goes smoothly!

@PurplePansy05 amazing that you had another scan and that the baby has grown so much - incredible how quickly babies grow at this stage. Good luck on the other test results x

@surreymum89 welcome, hope you feel better soon. A few friends who are 3 months head of where I'm at now (13 weeks) said they felt relief by weeks 14-16 - fingers crossed!

@PurplePansy05 that’s amazing that baby purple has grown so much and I’m glad all was ok.

@surreymum89 hi! I’m going to start looking soon, it’s a minefield to me. I usually sleep on my tummy, but have found I keep waking up on my back, so need to try and get out of that habit!

Has anyone’s midwife told them when to stop taking folic acid? I always thought it was first trimester, but have read on other forums/threads that advice has changed and to continue? 🤷‍♀️

@Carefree1 A midwife at the EPU told me to take pregnacare all the way through, which has folic acid in it

My midwife told me at the booking appointment to keep taking Vitamin D and Folic Acid supplements through out the pregnancy. I had thought the folic would have been for only the first 12 weeks

I never actually asked about folic acid, but I stopped taking it at 12 weeks - I bought separate vitamin d supplements as pregnacare is so expensive (and the conception ones made my pee bright yellow!!). Hopefully that's ok - I'm not an expert, but I think folic acid is to reduce risks of neural tube defects, and that's fully formed by 12 weeks, so it isn't as important then?

I've been told to take high dose folic acid throughout the whole pregnancy - I've had previous mc though and also develop pernicious anemia - low b12 and folate in my pregnancy with ds so that could be why

I was also told I should be on high dose folic - at 9 weeks - I was sooo annoyed at the MW - I know its not her fault but NHS choices doesnt even list the reason why I needed to be on high dose so how else would I have known!!! Was told to take until 14 weeks and am praying my 12 week scan is all ok!! i was taking the low dose up until 9 weeks.

There are some mixed theories about folic acid later on, whether it's needed or not and what dose. I read up on that after I was told to take 5mg in the first trimester after my first loss and been taking it religiously in my next pregnancies and when TTC. That was also because of family history of hydrocephalus. Clearly higher dose had no positive impact on the miscarriages or baby development in my case at all. European countries and the US do not recommend 5mg dose daily from what I read but 800 micrograms per day in specific circumstances (including mine). There was research few years ago into whether a significant dose can increase the risk of ASD in children, they initially said possibly then newer research says no. But then they're investigating now if it can impact on early onset of dementia in mothers after prolonged use (and I stress that latter part, please don't panic after few months), I didn't see the results yet. Lots of people told me it's completely safe in high doses and it most likely is, but I made a personal choice after taking it for nearly 2 years to go with an 800 microgram dose this time because that's how it's done everywhere else and as I said it made no difference to my outcomes before. I was not told to continue it at all but I am considering reducing it to the standard dose of 400 micrograms in the second trimester, I haven't decided yet.

Conclusion is please don't get too worried if you were on a standard dose, as long as you've been taking it regularly everything should be fine. The 5mg dose seems to be a UK specific thing tbh and I'm not convinced about its efficacy in any event (but of course that's based on my own circumstances). xx

@PurplePansy05

Thats a very reasonable and balanced view, when I mentioned my concerns to the MW she told me not to worry and this happens all the time and outcomes are still good.

Also some people don't realise they are pregnant for a couple of months so take no folic acid and still have healthy babies!!

@LyraShaeLilly Exactly, and on top of that you've also been getting some folate from food anyway, you really shouldn't be getting yourself worried over this 💐

If anyone wants to know more, here is the latest link re folate levels/ASD, it does actually say there may be a link between high folate levels and the likelihood of ASD, but equally it says that ASD is most likely caused by a range of factors (a lot of which don't even depend on us personally) so it's not the sole reason as such, there may just be some correlation of which they don't know enough yet and they are investigating this further: molecularautism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13229-020-0315-z. xx

Thank you ladies, it seems that it is common to be taking it throughout now, so I’ll just keep taking the pregnacare supplements, unless told otherwise xx

Thanks for the link @PurplePansy05, perhaps I’ll read that too before I make a decision xx

And thank you @Carefree1 @MrsB2019x @WolfMother326, I'm off to pee in a pot, I'm so rubbish at this, honestly, it's embarrassing 🤣 xx

@Carefree1 I think the NHS advice still is up to 12 weeks:

www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/vitamins-supplements-and-nutrition/#:~:text=Folic%20acid%20before%20and%20during,tube%20defects%2C%20including%20spina%20bifida.

I will definitely continue on Vit D and iron, I take Vit D anyway just for me every day. Still on the fence with folic acid, there might not be any point in taking it anymore tbh xx

Morning everyone,

Insomnia is going to break me! Soooo tired this morning.

With regards to folic acid, please try not to worry. Remember it's already present in a lot of food we eat, naturally in a lot of green veggies and an additive in fortified cereals. Remember a lot of countries fortify their flour too (which is why high dose may be UK specific). All this is a vague memory from DS BF days which suggests a link between folate and tongue tie. I've finished the extra dose I was given at 8 weeks, finishing off all the pregnacare etc I have lying around and will move onto the Vit D the MW gave me. x

I’ve come to the conclusion that my baby doesn’t like Mondays as it’s made me sick again this morning for the second Monday on the trot. Wtf 🙄

Hope everyone else is okay x