Bulimia and Pregnancy, Help!!!!!

Chelle1977

Yes, its bad for your baby. Your body is barely getting the nutrients it needs for normal functioning when you purge. Your baby is definitely not going to get what s/he needs.

You need to make your ob/gyn aware of your eating disorder and ask for help.

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Progress, not perfection

lil red chevy

I must say I agree. I would suggest that you ask your doctor a.s.a.p. If you are lucky enough to even carry that baby to term you will have a higher risk of the baby having problems. If you can't do it for you do it for the life you carry. You will have all the support you need on the boards. Please seek help!

lil red chevy

GypsyArcher

Hey there hon. Yes, you should know that purging will indeed harm your baby. There is no way it can be good for it! I agree that you should talk to your doctor or ob/gyn about your eating disorder and how it will affect your baby if you haven't already. Hang in there!

Amanda

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The grass is always greener on the other side...until you get closer and see that it's astroturf~

Melora

It's so important that you get some help with this. Your unborn baby's life could depend on it. I found some information for you, I hope it helps. Active bulimia nervosa (BN) raises the risk of miscarriage, prematurity, and postnatal depression. Active bulimia nervosa was significantly associated with miscarriage (26% of subjects vs. 12% of controls, preterm delivery (23% in subjects vs. 8% of controls), and possible gestational diabetes (16% in subjects vs. 3 % of controls. I also found a letter a woman wrote to a website, I cut out a bit of it as it was quite long but left most of it intact. "I found out in 2/98 I was pregnant and I suffer from bulimia. I had always told myself I would stop if I ever got pregnant. It is so hard to stop bulimia even when you are pregnant. I was okay the first month and I tried to eat really healthy. But it got harder and I started purging because I had gained a few pounds and I knew it was not baby weight gain yet. I kept thinking "women get morning sick and vomit", I had only experienced the nausea. Anyway I purged a few more times, it was not everyday like in the past but it was more than it should have been. I was so upset I had tried 2 yrs to get pregnant and I could not believe I was doing this to my body. I went for my 3 month check up thinking everything was fine and my doctor sent me right over for an ultrasound, she said my uterus did not feel 3 month size. The ultrasound showed the fetus had quit developing somewhere around 6 weeks. I do not know if the purging is what caused it, I will never know, but believe me it has been so hard to deal with. I am so sad and I want a baby so bad. Please do whatever you can to control the binging/purging, think of the healthy baby you will have." Good luck with your eating and your pregnancy. If you aren't in treatment, I highly suggest you begin treatment immediately and let your Gyno know that you are Bulimic.

Dramaqueen

Hey hun!

Everyone's right, bulimia will harm your unborn baby. Your going to need to see someone very soon about this because it's hard to be strong yourself in times like these.

bec

congrats on your pregnancy. you need to start looking after yourself because so have someone else to think about. i am also pregnant. i was anorexic when i found out and i am trying really hard to keep this baby well. i am also 18weeks now. so nearly halfway there. i am thinking that you are only pregnant for a short time so you have to try really hard. let your doctor know whats going on with your ed. i still hate eating but i know im doing this for my baby so now im eating 2 meals sometimes 3 a day. which is better than b4 i was eating nothing. if u can't do it for yourself do it for your unborn child. have you got a good support system. its really important. please take and look after yourself and your baby. you only have 7ths to go. i also have a friend who was anorexic got preg and had a healthy baby boy. though she returned to her behaviours after the birth. come to the pregnancy board .i go there and there is so much support to . take care sweetie i know you can do this.

[Please do not share contact information such as e-mail addresses. Thank you ~ Zesty]

[This message has been edited by Zesty (edited 02-26-2003).]

bec

i am in the same situation as you. i was also anorexic when i got pregnant. i am now 18 weeks. its been hard trying to eat but i am just doing this for my baby. trying to keep it healthy. you need to let your doctor know whats going on so they can help you. you are not alone in this. i know you can get through this. have you got a good support network because you need all the support you can get. it won't be easy but we need to do this for our babies. we can get through this together. i am also posting on the pregnancy board come and have a look heaps of helpful information there. hope to hear from you soon. thake care of you and your baby.

[Again, please do NOT post e-mail addresses on HealthBoards. Thank you ~ Zesty]

[This message has been edited by Zesty (edited 02-28-2003).]

flor_casas

Hi, I am 12 wks pregnant and am also bulimic. I am also trying very hard to quit but its very difficult. I start to freak out because I feel totally fat, I've gained weight and its hard to deal with it. Its very depressing, I have such a fear of getting fat. I'm trying really hard to stop but I keep making excuses for myself (it was morning sickness that made me do it). Anyway, I just wanted you to know that there is someone out there who understands.

password

please reply-any reassurance is appreicaiated. I vomited one time during my pregnancy at 13 1/2 weeks and had a miscarriage at approximately the same time. Does anyone know if this one induced binge -purge could cause a miscarriage? please advise-I am desparate!

raindrop

password, i'm not a doc & i've never been pregnant, but i don't think that this one b/p could have caused the miscarriage. doing so continually would probably endanger the baby, but once? . . .

it sounds like you feel incredibly guilty about this. i hope that you've spoken to your doctor (about your ED & your feelings about the miscarriage). miscarriages happen so frequently and you shouldn't blame yourself.

also, when women are pregnant don't they get sick sometimes and throw up? (morning sickness?) & i've never heard of that causing miscarriages.

take care and please don't beat up on yourself for this. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/heart.gif

password

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I hope your right. Do you know of anyone who induced vomiting and dleivered to term?

CalifGal

Password, Please do not blame yourself for the miscarriage. I am bulimic and binged/purged through my entire pregnancy. I tried so hard to stop the cycle but I've had this disorder for 16 years and it's a bit complicated to just "stop". Anyway, I delivered a beautiful, healthy baby girl who is now 2. I'm not condoning bulimia and I encourage anyone who is pregnant ( or who's not pregnant and is suffering) to get help. It's an awful thing to live with. My baby was only 5lb 10ozs when she was born- (I only gained 14lbs) & I felt terrible. She's fine now but at the time, it sent me into a deep depression. I felt so guilty because she was so tiny and I knew it was my fault. To anyone out there who is dealing with this, please get help asap.

password

Thanks Califgal for your message-it made me feel better. Did you get help after your pregnancy? I want to get pregnant again and I am very nervous about the weight gain. I don't want to be in the same predicament I was in this time. Did you tell your ob-gyn. about your bulimia? I just told mine today when I had the post miscarriage surgical procedure. Although he tried to be understanding, he just referred me to a psychiatirst! When I told him I see a pscyhologist, he said you have to work on that. Are you aware of any online forum where I can chat w/fellow pregnant bulimics? ACtually, since I am not pregnant now are you aware of a forum where I can chat with fellow bulimics to gain support? Thanks again.

CalifGal

I'm happy that I was able to help you some. I know what you're going through, trust me. When I got pregnant, I was so nervous about gaining weight that I made the bulimia even worse. I've always exercised alot so, to help combat my nerves, I made sure to keep up my cardio as well as allow only very nutritious foods to digest. I did not share with my doctor that I was purging because I didn't want her to constantly question me or alarm my husband who, incidentally, had no clue. I also did not get help after my baby was born and the cycle continues to haunt me today. I'm busier now, which helps, but the urge to binge is always hovering. That's pretty funny that your ob-gyn told you that you need to "work on that" when you told him you were already seeing a psychologist! HELLO! Like you didn't know! I think you probably presented him with something he felt uncomfortable with & that's all he could think of to say. Anyway, I've never participated in any kind of forum concerning bulimia so I'm not aware of a group that you could contact. This is actually the first time I've ever really talked to someone about it. My disorder is something I've kept secret from most everybody. I'm trying to get pregnant right now so you and I might be in the same boat soon. I'd love more than anything to gain some control but I just don't know if I can. I keep telling myself that if I really try, I can stop. That sometimes works for a few days but then I'm right back at it. Please let me know if you find any support groups. I'll look around too. I hope your surgical procedure wasn't too painful and that you are feeling okay. Again, please don't blame yourself!!!! What happened is not your fault, it's just nature. You will have the baby you are supposed to have when the time is right. Take care!

[This message has been edited by CalifGal (edited 09-05-2003).]