Pregnant and not eating

[Jelly101]

Hi all.

I'm currently 18+4 weeks pregnant, and I'm not eating much at all. This isn't necessarily out of choice. My appetite has decreased a lot since I found out I was pregnant. I'm assuming this is because of suffering from severe nausea during the early weeks and being off food (I have only been sick 3 times). However, I still don't feel hungry.

There isn't any food that I really fancy. I understand that I need to eat for the sake of my baby, but whenever I do, just chewing food makes me heave and want to be sick. This then puts me off wanting to try anything else.
At the moment, I am just snacking throughout the day to keep my energy levels up.

During my last pregnancy, I suffered from severe sickness which lasted all day and night until around 5 months. I ended up going to A&E because I was severely dehydrated and couldn't keep anything down. After the sickness started to wear off, I was careful about what I was eating, as I didn't want to be sick again. I weighed just over 9stone at the end of my pregnancy, barely had a bump and gave birth to my DS who was 6lbs 13oz. My midwife never showed any concerns about my weight during my pregnancy.

I was also worried about putting on a lot of weight, as I have struggled with eating in the past, when I was a teenager. I used to obsessed with my weight and dieting.

I'm starting to worry whether the fact that I automatically feel sick whenever I start to eat anything is a subconscious thing, and that maybe my old worries and habits are starting to make a comeback because I'm worried about gaining weight again. I'm currently managing to eat bland food little and often.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar? Or does anyone have any advice?

I am in my first trimester and also struggling to eat. I am getting by mainly by just eating whatever I really fancy, even if it's not that healthy. If I try and eat anything that I don't really want to eat I can't get it down. It's a faff though!

Have you spoken to your midwife about your concerns? I would imagine that would be the best port of call. If your baby is growing and developing as expected and you are not suffering from drastic weight loss then I imagine everything is OK (but I am by no means an expert as this is my first pregnancy).

I have a friend who lost so much weight during her pregnancy due to her nausea - but both her and baby were absolutely fine.

Anyway, hopefully my reply will bump this up for others with more experience to see and reply to!

Klap- Thank you for your reply! I am trying to get by on what I fancy, but most of the time I don't fancy anything. I have lost some weight since becoming pregnant and family members have commented on it.

My midwife doesn't seem concerned. I told her I couldn't eat much at all and I was a little worried, but she just said that baby seems fine and some weight loss can be normal. Imo, she just wants me out the door ASAP and I don't feel comfortable with her tbh. I have asked her several things and she just seems disinterested and barely engages in any conversation when I'm at my appointments. I then try and make small talk which often fails miserably.

Anyway, I have been feeing the baby move since 15 weeks (a lot earlier than my first), and at least once a day, I get little flutters. This reassures me a little. I'm just a little concerned because I weigh significantly less now than I did before I was pregnant.

Due to my 'anorexia' I was put on ensures for my entire pregnancy as they know I wouldn't eat, (I was still and still an under a clinic for my 'ed') if you're worried mention it to your midwife they may put you on ensures just to ensure you're getting the nutrients needed

I have 'anorexia' and was placed on ensures for my entire pregnancy just to ensure that I was getting the nutrients needed.

If you're concerned mention it to your midwife or even your gp they will probably put you on ensures or similar.

Don't worry too much everyone's pregnancy is different lots of women lose weight during pregnancy obviously not as many that put it on but try and not panic if you stress yourself you will be less likely to eat too!

Op did you tell your midwife that you have had difficulties with food in the past and are concerned that your old problems don't rear their head in this pregnancy? I think it's worth spelling that out to her and maybe specifically asking for a referral to the mental health midwife (their should be one!). Some weight loss can be totally normal and do absolutely no harm to mum or baby, but you seem to want help to make sure this doesn't turn into something outside the 'norm' for you or your little one and I think you are right that getting the appropriate support now is going to be better all round than waiting to see if it becomes a real problem. Good luck!

It said my first post failed sorry! For posting twice

I don't know much (I haven't met my midwife yet) but if you aren't getting on with her can you ask to see a different midwife, or are you stuck with the same one regardless? It doesn't seem like you are getting the support you need from her.

Other option would be to see your GP perhaps?

My midwife is the only one available at my GP unfortunately . This is the same midwife I saw during my last pregnancy and I felt exactly the same then.