27 weeks and worried I’ve been under eating

[Jcmummy32]

Hi everyone.

I’m 27 weeks pregnant and wondered if anyone has had worried about under eating in pregnancy. I have a history of anorexia and worried I’m not eating enough now and that I might be hurting my baby. Is that possible?

Is your midwife aware?

I think baby is quite good at getting all the nutrients needed from you, so baby hopefully will be fine but you may start to suffer.

Are you under the mental health midwife team? They could support you?

Are you having 3 meals a day? Could you add in a smoothie to increase nutrients and calories?

Do you take pregnancy vitamins?

Have they started measuring your bump? Is this ‘normal’ size? Was all ok at 20 week scan?

What are you eating on an average day? Did you start the pregnancy with a healthy bmi and how much weight have you gained so far?

Yeah, my midwife knows.

I think I’m eating around 1600/1700 calories a day. I’m so worried baby won’t be strong enough when he’s born because of me.

My biggest fear is stillbirth. Do you think not eating enough can increase the risk?

Had my first fundal height measurement the other week and I’m in the normal range...

When you say under-eating, what do you mean?

You’ve got 13 ish more weeks, so I know it’s hard, but can you try and up what you are eating for those last few weeks? Smoothies are a quick easy way to get extra calories.

I wouldn’t waste time worrying about what’s happened so far as that’s unchangeable but you can focus on the third trimester.

OP, I didn't eat a thing for around a month when I was pregnant so you can rest easy knowing you've done your baby absolutely no harm.

Babies will take everything they need from you, including vitamins from inside your bone marrow. It's insane.

But basically relax, you're doing fine and so is baby

I was worried about this, just due to feeling sick all the time, but baby will take whatever they need. Unfortunately it will be you who is left wanting vitamin wise. Baby will be fine! Just try you best, and make sure you speak to your midwife about your worries.

How tall are you? Around 1700 calories a day doesn't seem like a tiny amount tbh. You only need an extra couple of hundred calories in the last trimester.

OP I physically couldn't keep anything down when I was pregnant due to hg and ended up hospitalised 3 times. I was the lowest weight I've been in my adult life at 6 months pregnant I lost so much weight! I was obviously worried about dd's health but the doctors reassured me she'd be fine. They said babies are basically parasites and will take everything they need from the mother's body. Such a lovely thought

Obviously it's best to keep yourself as healthy as possible for your own sake as well as baby's and you want to be as strong and well nourished as you can when baby arrives and needs looking after.

As above really, babies are indeed parasites, I would be more worried about your body! Take your vitamins regularly, attend the checkups, as long as thr measurements are within normal, I wouldn't be too worried.

Was your pre pregnancy BMI less than 18.5? If so, I magine you would've referred to perinatal mental health team and consultant led antenatal clinic from an early stage to keep an eye on things. Enjoy your pregnancy!