Haven't been drinking enough water....now worried for my baby

[cazzabazz]

I've always been bad at drinking anywhere near enough water as I'm supposed to (even when it's on my desk - I just don't get thirsty and forget to drink it). I'm 7 weeks pregnant and have known about it for 2 weeks, and I know I haven't been drinking enough, but today I read a scary article which basically said that my baby will die unless I drink at least 2 litres a day....I'm going to drink way more from now on, even if I have to resort to drastic measures to remind myself, but might the damage have been done already? Won't be having my first scan for another 5 weeks so I have no idea whether everything's OK in there or not :-(

It'll be fine! Don't worry, really.

I had hyperemesis and can assure you for at least the first 30 weeks I doubt I was managing more than half a litre a day because of all the puking. DD is fine and a bonny 9 month old.

Most people don't know they're pregnant for ages

Everything is fine. The baby will take what it needs from your system and you get 'water' from all fluids as well as food.

Try not to worry. Up your fluids by all means, but honestly you won't have done any damage.

And if I can give you a gentle hint? The internet is full of shite. Scaremongering, guilt tripping, fear inducing shite. Pick your sites very carefully and even then take everything you read with a pinch of salt. If something says 'do this or your baby will die' then it's not proper advice from a professional, or even just a person who cares about the impact of their words on another person.

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

It will be fine.
I'm notoriously bad at drinking also - usually about 1l a day (tho I'm trying to increase that to a base level of 1.5l/day)
I probably did 1L/day through both my pregnancies, and both kids are fine.
Drinking more would be better if you can remember. The only way I can do it is to have a pint breakfast, lunch and dinner, and then occasional cups through the day.

You poor thing, there's so much nonsense out there to scare pregnant women. No-one needs to drink two litres of water a day - it's a myth that for some reason (maybe due to the mineral water companies?) really caught on. If you are in a temperate climate, most of the liquid you need is in your food - especially if you are eating lots of vegetables and fruit - and cups of tea and coffee do of course count towards your fluid intake.

And as Barbarella says, many women don't know they're pregnant for weeks and going doing all sorts of things which are potentially not all that great for the developing embryo, and their babies turn out fine.

Cheer up, I'm sure you are doing just great and that your baby is developing fine!

You don't need to worry at all! I usually drink lots of water but since being pregnant haven't been able to stomach much. In my first trimester even the thought of fluid made me nauseous!
I am now 20 weeks and the baby is fine :)

Remember that you don't just get water from drinking water, it's in food, other drinks etc. I'm sure if you searched you could find an equally scary article on drinking too much water! Now you're aware of it just make sure you keep it up, set an alarm on your phone to remind you maybe?

Oh thank god - you've all put my mind at rest! It was an American article - should have known they were scaremongering as my experiences of watching Jerry Springer have taught me that they can have a tendency to be a bit over-dramatic!! Will drink more anyway but glad my baby probably won't have suffered any lasting damage by not drinking the recommended amount!

We don't need to drink 2 litres of water a day. It is a myth that lots of the bottle water manufacturers like to push but the body is quite good at regulating how much extra fluid it needs and is also pretty good at extracting fluids from the foods we eat.

8 glasses of water a day myth

I was like you, not drinking at all.

I was having migraines and doing research regarding that, then i read an article about how dehydration is dangerous, especially in terms of premature birth. This was at about 17 weeks.

I used a preganancy app on my phone which monotirs your water intake during the day, everytime you drink a glass you click on it and then it shows you how much you stillhave left- works for 10 glasses a day. I aimed to drink about 6-7 everyday before I left work, then finish the rest at home.

That really got me into habit of drinking and now I do it automatically, every time I pass water fountain at work I take a glass. I started loving to drink water.

I do not think american articles are overdramatizing in genereal (I did not see that particular article), I more think that UK advice is much more laid back. In US they try aim to err much more on safe side compared to UK where on everything they say its fine and just take paracetamol.

Zahra5, that's because they practise "defensive medicine" in the US - due to the culture of litigation - and we are lucky enough in the UK to have a system based on evidence-based medicine.

At seven weeks (and for quite a while adterwards) I felt so sick I couldn't even force myself to drink.

Don't worry about it - the article was talking complete crap. The baby takes all it needs from you, and I think you'd have to be dangerously dehydrated for quite a while before it caused any problem with the baby.

I'm on my second pregnancy. In both I have been so sick that to keep a teaspoon of liquid down was/is a triumph. Drink as much as you can but don't worry too much. DS is 18 months and fit as a fiddle and the second is coming on nicely too
On a practical note, Once the sickness subsided, I found a 500ml bottle was small enough that the water was still cool. Every time I refilled it I put a dot on the lid. I aimed for 4 dots a day.

I'm on my second pregnancy. In both I have been so sick that to keep a teaspoon of liquid down was/is a triumph. Drink as much as you can but don't worry too much. DS is 18 months and fit as a fiddle and the second is coming on nicely too
On a practical note, Once the sickness subsided, I found a 500ml bottle was small enough that the water was still cool. Every time I refilled it I put a dot on the lid. I aimed for 4 dots a day.

I'm absolutely rubbish at staying hydrated and never ever drink 2 litres per day, my last scan was 3 weeks ago and baby had survived up to that point so I'm sure yours will be fine too, don't worry! Try to keep hydrated but if you don't then I really wouldn't dwell on it.

Another Hyperemesis graduate here. I couldn't swallow my own spit and I had a 9lb perfect baby girl.
15 weeks now and slowly regaining the ability to hold down fluids. Scans show everything perfect and baby ahead of dates.

You don't need 2 l of water a day in most cases - it comes from the notion that you need about 1ml of water to metabolise 1 kcal of food on average. But... Loads of that is in food anyway. Your body makes no distinction between water from the tap and water from a cucumber/ fruit etc. Unless all your food is powder, you're fine :)

You will be absolutely fine - baby takes what it needs, like the successful little parasite it is. Your body tissues stores lots of water it can draw on. I second the poster above who says the Internet is full of crap.

I was successful in drinking water..... that came straight back up again at that stage!

As long as you are drinking/eating and peeing then don't worry bout it.

I need to drink at least 2litres a day when in work because my place is SOOOOOO warm and any less than that and I really feel it the next day. But when not in work I just drink when thirsty, or feeling a bit like a headache coming on.

Listen to your body. And try not to read too much.

I'm in Scotland so got a ready steady baby book at booking in. That's the only book I've read so far and not even the whole way through there's so much information out there that it's confusing as pp have said.

Also I was vomiting so much that my leg cramped. Hurpled into my scan as could barely walk properly. I was a teary, snotty, dehydrated mess. Scan showed a happy, legs up over its head baby and all was fine!

It's natural to worry, especially if it's the first. It's all the unknown and fear of what happens next. I know. I was bricking it at the scan. But I'm 30 weeks now and baby likes to kick lumps out me.

Congrats btw op

Babies are conceived grown and born in all kinds of incredibly hard situations - wars, famines, natural disasters.

I honestly hand in heart think your tiny bean will be right as rain if you've not had your 8 glasses if water - babies suck up all the good stuff anyway, it's you that loses out

I know it's incredibly difficult, but please try to stop reading scary shit in the internet and enjoy your pregnancy. It's a long and emotional road at the best of times without finding extra things to worry about x

Congratulations!

If the article says your baby will die if you don't drink at least 2 liters of water a day, it's wrong. That's just not true.

Reliable medical advice usually isn't phrased as "if you don't do X, your baby will die." There are some exceptions, but they're in quite specific circumstances- they're not something that can be applied to everybody. Be very skeptical of any pregnancy advice that is phrased that way, since people who know what they are talking about tend not to put things that way.

Alarmist nonsense. If your body heeds more water you'll get more thirsty. This claptrap about absolutely needing 2L of water is day is just crazy, if you've had a cup of tea and a wee today then you're not dehydrated, just eat and drink as normal.
Your baby will be fine but you need to step away from articles like that- Pregnancy is loooonng and you'll be a nervous wreck!!

Can you link to the article? Sounds like a load of nonsense.

Maybe the 8 glasses of water idea got started by the toilet paper manufacturers?