Unexpected pregnancy while underweight (BMI 16), looking for experience & advice... I'm scared!
Hi everyone,
I'm in my late 20s and have been married for a little over 1.5 years.
My husband and I were planning to start trying for a baby around November this year, but unexpectedly I became pregnant last month, about 4–5 months earlier than we had planned. I'm currently around 5 weeks pregnant.
We haven't had our first doctor's appointment yet, but I've had pregnancy symptoms for several weeks and my home pregnancy test was positive.
The reason I'm worried is that I've always been very petite and underweight. My BMI is around 16, and I've struggled to gain weight my entire life despite eating well. I seem to have a very high metabolism and burn calories quickly... I've tried weight gain diets... exercises...overeating for months...and could barely gain a kg or two in a span of two months.
I also tend to have low iron, Hb and ferritin levels from a recent CBC test done, which often leaves me feeling tired and exhausted. In fact, one of the reasons we wanted to wait until November was so I could spend a few months focusing on gaining weight and improving my overall health before getting pregnant.
A lot of relatives have told me not to worry because women usually gain weight during pregnancy anyway, which gives me some hope. But my husband and I are still concerned about both my health and the baby's health since I'm starting this pregnancy at a low weight.
I'm wondering if anyone here was underweight when they became pregnant. Did you manage to gain enough weight during pregnancy? Did being underweight or having low iron/ferritin cause any complications or extra challenges during pregnancy?
I know every pregnancy is different, and we'll definitely be discussing all of this with a doctor soon. Since it's still very early, part of me is wondering whether it's better to continue the pregnancy or whether we should have focused on improving my health first before having a baby.
I'm feeling quite anxious and would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been in a similar situation.