Breathlessness 8 weeks pregnant

[CDugs24]

I knew you could get shortness of breath in late pregnancy but I was shocked last night and all today that I’ve had the worst breathlessness, been to the docs who seemed really uninterested and when I’d asked is it a symptom they didn’t seem to know, just wondering does anyone else have this feeling it’s like I can’t take a big breath, I know I just need to stay calm but I’d be interested to see if anyone else has this....

Very common. You'll get blood taken by the midwife at your booking appointment and if there's a medical reason such as anaemia, it should be picked up and remedied at your 12 week appointment. My understanding is that it's to do with hormones and a significant increase in blood volume causing you to have to work a bit harder to pump blood around your body. Staying hydrated and paying attention to good nutrition really helps. I finished up on iron supplements which cured it instantly, but later in my pregnancy. Please don't start self medicating without advice from the midwife. You'll feel marginally better in about 10 months time! Take care of your mental health too. Anxiety doesn't help it.

@CDugs24. I might get slated for this but if you're really concerned about how breathless you're getting then go back to the GP or call 111. I say this as someone who was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism 3 weeks ago! The only real symptom I had was breathlessness. Pregnancy can thicken the blood, which can cause it to clot.

By the way, this is my 4th baby and until now I've never experienced this!

I was super short of breath before finding out I was pregnant - couldn’t even get through walking the dog though I exercise alot! Totally threw me off. It’s probably worth getting looked at again if you can just to be on the safe side. I’ve still got short breath just gone into 17 weeks but bloods have come back fine for iron and other levels. Gonna see how I go by 20 week app if all goes well.