Expert: Lawrence Jay Rappaport <B>M.D.</B> - 1/5/2005
Question Hi, im 23 years old, and am expecting my first baby/ My LMP was Aug 27th.
My concern is the fact that i haven't yet gained any weight, in fact i have lost 4lbs. Before concieving i was 11 stones and now i am only 10.12 ( gaining just 2lbs of the weight iv lost). sometimes the scales do go back upto to 11 but never above. I mentioned this to my midewife who didn't seemed concerned. I had my scan at 14 weeks and everything seemed fine ( however where i live this is the only scan you are offered). Also the MW didn't listen for a heartbeat as she said it would only cause unessessary worry if she couldnt find one- this was at 16 weeks.I dont even look pregnant, well i have a tiny wee bump, smaller than i thought i would have by now. I am so worried, please help me.
Also would it help the weight gain if i started taking prenatal vitamins again. ( i stopped at 12 weeks). Or will it do any harm to the baby because i have previously stopped them
Many many thanx.
Answer By now, your midwife should check for a fetal heartbeat at every visit. You certainly should hear a fetal heartbeat with a doppler stethoscope at 18 weeks. If the sonogram that you had at 16 weeks showed no problems and showed a fetal heartbeat you should not worry. Often, you will not gain any weight. You should definitely start the prenatal vitamins again. It does not matter if you had stopped them before. If you do not gain any weight at all, you must get another sonogram later in the pregnancy to rule out IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction). Although you lost weight and gained it back, the baby may be gaining weight on its own.
