Hi, I am a 27-year-old female in my second month of pregnancy. Most of my friends started gaining weight during pregnancy. However, I have lost two kgs over the last two months. I have severe nausea and morning sickness and don’t feel like eating. Is it normal? Does it indicate any serious health problem? Please help.
Dr Y S Nandanwar, Professor and Head of Department, Gynaecology, Lokmanya Tilak Medical College and Sion Hospital, Mumbai, has answered the query.
Weight loss during the first trimester of pregnancy is quite common and normal. It is one of the few pregnancy related changes that occur in the body when a woman gets pregnant. Here's everything you need to do during the first trimester of your pregnancy.
Pregnancy causes numerous changes in the function of body, including secretion of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a hormone which is responsible for symptoms of pregnancy like nausea and vomiting, termed as morning sickness. Most women tend to develop a metallic taste in their mouth due to vomiting, and the fear of puking prevents them from consuming food. As the caloric intake is significantly reduced, weight loss is seen during the first three months of pregnancy. This, in turn, increases the gastric emptying time, further worsening the condition and increasing your risk of gastritis and digestive problems like constipation. Here are simple tips to deal with 7 common pregnancy problems. However, losing a kg or two is not a cause for concern as it is mainly due to morning sickness. This is not the case during the second and third trimester as you should gain around ten kgs on an average. Read more on weight gain during pregnancy — what’s good and what’s not.
When should you worry?
If you have experienced severe weight loss, i,e, more than two kgs, during the first three months of pregnancy, then it’s time to take it seriously. Even symptoms like giddiness or ketone in urine or ketone breath could be due to starvation, which calls for medical intervention. Known as ketoacidosis, the condition might be treated with the help of medications and IV infusions. This condition is not a common problem unlike constipation or gastric trouble during pregnancy.
However, if you experience any significant changes in weight or do not feel like eating anything due to nausea or constipation, it is wise to consult a doctor because lack of food and dehydration might further lead to complications in pregnancy.
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