Pregnancy anxiety - acetone

[Nervousfirstbby]

Hi,

I am 7 weeks pregnant, this is my first pregnancy and I have extreme anxiety around loss. It consumes my every thought and I fixate on everything! It’s making the first trimester so difficult for me as I am constantly worried and stressed that something is wrong.

Last night I removed my gel nail polish with acetone without opening the window, it wasn’t until after I realised this is potentially harmful and googled it. On Google, I found that it could cause defects and miscarriages which has really stressed me out. I didn’t get any sleep last night as I’m worried I have caused damage to the baby.

Please could you give me some reassurance or advice, it’s consuming my every thought!!

Honestly, my biggest pregnancy advice is don't Google. Everything can cause an issue according to Google. I've been using nail polish and remover throughout. Please get some mental health support it's unmanageable. Nothing you can do can cause a miscarriage.

Hi @Peonies12 thank you so much got your response! I definitely need to get better at staying away from Google as I never get the answer I want which just stresses me out more! I have my first midwife appointment next week, hoping to mention my anxiety then!

From Gov.uk on Acetone:

"Low level exposure from the correct use of products containing acetone would not be expected to adversely affect the health of the mother or the unborn child."

You and your baby will be fine. You're still first trimester but you really need support - pregnancy is a stressful time and whilst the things you worry about change, the worry is going to be there. If you're as anxious as you say you are, that is what is most likely to cause harm so please get support as you can't carry on like this. You need to be able to rest and take care of you and your baby - ante-natal mental health support is usually really good and they'll do everything they can to support you.

This is very much an anxiety problem.

It is vital you deal with this before you have your child, or it is likely you will transfer your anxieties onto the baby, which can end up with them having unnecessary and painful test/procedures, not for their benefit, but to ease your anxiety.

Talk to your GP or midwife about getting help to manage your anxiety as soon as possible.

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/health-anxiety/

Definitely step away from Google and consider speaking to someone about your anxiety.
It is completely normal to have some worry and feel anxious that your baby is OK but it's not normal if it becomes all consuming and has you worrying about every little thing.

Depending on the source you use, somewhere bergen 1 in 4 and 1 in 8 pregnancies will end in miscarriage in the UK. This is not because you took your nail polish off or filled your car up with petrol (that was posted on MN the other day) or ate some melted gorgonzola (also seen on MN recently).
I certainly don't mean to make light of the anxiety felt by some women but these normal things done in isolation are not going to harm your unborn baby, the risks are absolutely minute.

Sadly MC's do happen even when following every single guideline and random piece of advice..... and the stress/ anxiety will be more unhealthy than the things you are worrying about.

You just have to try to remember that it's far more likely you will have a healthy successful pregnancy than not.

@Shroedy @sel2223 @user1471538275 thank you for your replies! it’s so reassuring to read them!

Hello. Lab scientist here. I had a personal risks assessment when I was pregnant with my daughter and we use acetone neat in the lab and it wasn't one of the solvents I had to stop using. The safety data sheet which is reviewed every 12 months and I have to sign I'm still happy to use with appropriate PPE has never included risks in pregnancy in my 18 years of working in a lab. I hope this helps put your mind at ease.
For the volume of acetone you probably used as long as it wasn't you sat in a tiny cupboard would have been enough to disperse any vapours into air of the room and the volume of acetone in the air you were breathing would have been small even without the window open

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this! This is very reassuring to know and has put my mind at ease!

OP I'm so sorry you're struggling so much with your anxiety. It can be so crippling. I'm a very anxious person so I completely understand. Something funny has come over me since falling pregnant (and i was like it in my first pregnancy too) but I think when I realised that really all I could do was follow the general advice and then everything is out of my hands, an amazing sense of calm just came over me because honestly, there's nothing you're going to "do" to cause anything. This is nature and completely out of your control. What will be will be, in the truest sense. If all you do right now is spend your time worrying, you will look back and regret wasting what should have been an exciting time. I know that's easy to say. But you're not an idiot you're not going to do anything wrong, so look in the mirror, tell yourself you've got this, and get on with each day. You've got this! X

I also use acetone in a lab all day long, including burning it off. My baby was absolutely fine.

@magicstar2020 thank you so much for this lovely reply! It’s so true and I need to use this outlook as well! I am trying my best to follow the guidance and be careful but some things are just unavoidable! Anxiety doesn’t improve the outcome in the end, I need to try to stop worrying so much!