Gaining Weight for TTC (was underweight)..

[CarrieB86]

Ladies
Anyone had fertility issues due to being underweight? I'm 5ft 7 and weight 9st 1lb. Have maintained this weight for around 1.5yrs and euro out around 4times a week. Previously I was as light as 8st (for about 2 years) - I hope I didn't mess up my body :(

It can happen.

Are you having periods and if so are they regular?

I came off Mercilon pill last Sept and after first cycle have had regular 27 day cycles albeit they are a lot lighter than while I was on the pill. They last about 4-5 days.

That's good news!

It's important to keep to a healthy BMI, don't let it go below 19/20 or above 24/25. You may be eating out 4 times a week, but make sure you're eating the right things (ie not just a lettuce leaf!)

If your cycle is regular then that would indicate that you're ovulating spontaneously.

If you've been ttc for 6 months then there is absolutely nothing to indicate that anything is "wrong", it can just take a bit of time. When coming off the pill it can actually take about a year for our bodies to get back to normal completely, so there isn't anything to worry about for now. All seems perfectly normal.

If you haven't had any success by September/ October then you could pop to your gp and ask for baseline hormone levels (taken between day 2 and day 5 of your cycle, LH/FSH/testosterone/oestradiol) just to put your mind at rest. Would be worth requesting rubella screening at the same time.

Only exception to this advice is of you've got a history that includes STD/STI or have had abdominal surgery (eg appendectomy). In which case I'd still try for another 6 months, then see gp - they might want to do a scan as well as bloods, just to check that everything is as it should be.

I was and still am underweight, and I have PCOS. I didn't use any contraception (myself), so periods weren't managed and were completely irregular.

We got very lucky and conceived just over a year after we started. No pregnancy complications, was under a consultant due to PCOS rather than weight. Pre-eclampsia and a difficult birth but not necessarily related. Currently sitting with 1yo DD It CAN happen!