Zinc 🥺

[JR1987]

I’ve realized this entire time I have taken way more zinc than I planned on. 46 mg per day.. Through the entire pregnancy. I’m 39 weeks. I’m so beside myself honestly. It doesn’t seem to matter what I do right now I can’t shake that I have harmed baby. I’m worried I depleted all my copper and caused baby to not develop properly. Despite my scans being done and despite it just being based on fear. I try to put it in perspective .. I know it’s likely not the worst thing I could have done but it feels like it is. It feels like I’ve smoked two packs of cigarettes each day or something. I had copper in my prenatal and also in the zinc supplement I was taking along with eating it too.. but I still don’t feel like I was able to ever give baby what it needed. Don’t exactly know what else to say I just hope that baby was able to take from me what it needed.. just feeling sad and like an absolute failure even though I was trying to just keep healthy.

Is zinc bad?

You are being completely irrational.

The baby will always take what it needs. They are literally parasites. If you are deficient in something your baby will hoover up everything that’s there.

Women are not advised to avoid excessive zinc in the way they are Vit A or mercury. Yes you took more than is recommended. It is not remotely the same as smoking two packs of cigarettes a day.

Focus on a healthy diet and let this be a lesson about trying to micromanage supplements.

I really hope you are right. I’d love to be irrational at this point because it’s a pretty big deal to me that I can’t seem to shake. Google is a terrible place to be when your scared. So instead I’m trying to find some logic.. moms forums seem like the better of the two. 🤷‍♀️ Thanks for trying to give me some perspective. I have seven days left right now so I’m just trying to find the strength to get it together without fixating.

No it’s not bad it’s very important, but I just didn’t realize I was taking more than I needed and it can deplete other minerals if you take too much over time which is where I’m really scared. I’ll never know now if I was depleted but I’d assume I have been. I stopped taking it awhile ago now but it’s still pretty scary for me. I have major anxiety over it especially because I really didn’t realize the level I was at it was so innocent honestly. Just was hoping to get some reassurance I guess. 🤷‍♀️

Well in seven days time I have every confidence that you are going to meet your healthy and robust baby.

and I also bet that in 17 months time you are bribing them to at least eat a carrot baton and will laugh at the high nutritional standards you have now!

This is pretty extreme fixation OP. Are you usually such a worrier?

I hope so! There is so much information.. too much obviously just linked to delays and neuro development and if you have too much or too little etc.. of anything really…it’s like you really can’t win as a mother. I also know that you can pretty much put anything in to google and it will come back that there is a link to SOME problem. Like epidurals, ultrasounds, magnesium deficiency, zinc deficiency.. preeclampsia, gestational diabeties… or using regular shampoo ..it’s like no matter what you do or where you turn there’s something implicated. So that somewhat gives me reassurance? I don’t know. I took extra zinc because of Covid ( and we had it at Christmas) so I honestly just felt like ok this is proactive.. 🤦🏼‍♀️ But I did realize the other sides. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s done something like this out of good intention..,, but I’m also far too self aware sometimes that it’s hard to let go that I wasn’t “ more balanced” or perfect.

hopefully my baby will be ok and develop normally. And all my worrying will be for nothing 🙏🏼

Not too bad normally but pregnancy brings out a whole new level. Especially when you can find so much information on the detriments of taking the amount I did. In terms of depletion of copper etc. So my mind immediately goes to that I have failed. It’s a pretty scary place to be for me. I do see a therapist once per week but regardless I still struggle intensely.

It’s said here all the time, but step away from Google. This “information” isn’t just falling into your lap and you know that the internet can present untrue or skewed information. You’re clearly very careful about what you put into your body so why doesn’t that extend to what you put into your brain?! You’re allowing yourself to consume the intellectual equivalent of chicken nuggets and feeling appropriately crap as a result.

Honestly I think it’s hard for people to make out if your concern is too much zinc or too little copper (which seems to rely on a lot of ‘what ifs’ having come true). And you know why we’re confused?! Because neither of those are things pregnant women are actively lectured about. And that should tell you something.

Yeah I totally agree with you. It’s super hard. Like torture actually.. I’m more worried about the depletion of copper honestly. One depletes the other. But yes your right, I go right to the worst case scenario and it fluctuates through the day. It’s either black or white for me. The mom guilt is real. And I feel really foolish. The perfectionist in me is pretty harsh.

Keep talking to your therapist and (gently) cut yourself some slack! What’s going to be much more harmful to you and your baby than some slightly wonky minerals is a mum who’s eaten up by dread and chasing some unobtainable idea of perfection. CBT alongside psychotherapy really helped me with this sort of catastrophising: honestly, you owe yourself way more compassion.

Thank you 🥺 Yes we have been working on radical acceptance. I’m trying so hard. I know from the outside in it looks completely irrational but I’ve never felt more strongly upset in my life almost, it’s actually debilitating. So I recognize it and I’m trying my best. It helps to talk about it and hear that yes maybe I do need to cut myself some slack. That as moms we aren't perfect. Of course it was never intentional either. Your right about the catastrophising too I legit take it to the extreme and that’s what makes it so powerful. I have to keep telling myself that most of what we envision happening that is negative usually never does.

Keep on keeping on, you’re doing the right things.

i kept a worry log when I was really struggling, so wrote down every single worry for a whole week (there were so many but weirdly it didn’t make me feel any worse to actually note them down). Then at the end of the week I sat down and highlighted the things I’d worried about that had actually happened. There were hardly any. Then went back a month later to check again. Still most of them hadn’t happened. It was so useful for me to actually see how wildly inaccurate my risk-assessing brain can be.

keep taking if it helps. And definitely know that it is actually impossible to mother perfectly - it’s always a sort of compromise between millions of different factors, you just have to enjoy the good bits, keep laughing, and remember to nurture yourself as well.

Thank you. I appreciate you writing me ♥️ I know it’s impossible to be perfect.. normally I actually thrive in imperfection but when it’s something as important as a baby it’s hard to look back thinking I could have caused harm. The thoughts are so intrusive and definite right now that even to get out of bed I haven’t been able to today.

It’s my husbands birthday though so I plan on getting up and trying my very best for when he gets home. I’ve written numerous things down, challenged unrealistic thoughts, but because I have no proof of anything I think the only thing that will help in the end is too hopefully see normal development. this wax ultimately the case with my daughter too. Now I also know that you can find ANY thing to causally link anything really. I did have intrusive thoughts with my daughter as well surrounding stress when I was pregnant too, so lots of this is familiar but this time it’s because of something I’ve ingested which has brought me to a whole new level of anxiety. I’m sure I’m not the only one with either this concern or worried about other things that they have taken through out pregnancy… things like allergy medication, epilepsy medication or antibiotics etc. All those things I’m sure can have implications if you look hard enough for them.. which somehow brings me some sort of peace in a way.

I feel panicked regularly, angry, guilt shame and all the rest. It helps to talk about it though, even on a mom forum.

I just try to tell myself it can’t possibly be as bad as I’m envisioning. That these thoughts are intrusive, that most of the things are made up scenarios .. regardless if they have a connection or not.

I can’t possibly be the only mom who’s taken more zinc than they should have in an effort to protect against illness in pregnancy.. and how many of them didn’t even realize or think for one second that adding in copper was of importance? 🤷‍♀️

im just trying to meet myself where I’m at. Hopefully the paediatrician can help me feel better when baby is born. ♥️