Just from that statement there, if a woman had severe morning sickness and was not eating much, it's very well possible that she would be in ketosis without even being on a low carb diet.

I also want to share that every time I have eaten higher carbs, my morning (all day!!) sickness has been so much worse than if I stay around 70 to 80 g carbs or less, and I think that's my body telling me it's doing better on the lower carb. Again, it's a highly personal choice and it's not right of anyone to be judgemental of me if I choose that.

Depending on how insulin resistant a person is, it might very well be necessary for them to adopt a carb intake lower than 60 grams of carb to keep their blood sugars down, especially during pregnancy. Being pregnant tends to make a person even more insulin resistant and if they are on the borderline already, that's all it takes for GD to develop.
Once a person has Gestational diabetes, high blood sugars and blood sugar spikes translate to high amounts of insulin in the bloodstream that the developing baby is exposed to. In fact, it triggers the fetus to also produce high amounts of insulin. Guess how good that is for a developing baby?
Given that the members here constitute a larger than average portion of overweight pregnant women they are, as a whole, much more likely to be insulin resistant to begin with and would probably benefit from controlled carb pregnancy. How low? That depends on each person's individual tolerance but if I had to choose between being in ketosis with normal blood sugars and having high blood sugars but not being in ketosis, it wouldn't be a hard decision.

Baby 1: Boy, 40 weeks, 1 day (1 day past due date), 7 pounds 6 ounces
Baby 2: Girl, 39 weeks, 4 days (3 days before due date), 8 pounds 3 ounces
Baby 3: Boy, 40 weeks, 1 day (1 day past due date), 9 pounds.

Well, I still have not read enough research that proves this WOE is safe during pregnancy, or enough that disproves it. I am currently in the first trimester of my third pregnancy and since I ate anything/everything I wanted during the first two pregnancies and had healthy bubs, that I decide to also eat what I want during this one.

I can easily go back to a low-carb lifestyle after I am done breastfeeding the baby.

Also - I am not sure I would be able to not give in to all the cravings. The reason I decided to test for pg, was because I was visiting my mom and eating every single carb thing in sight. Real licorice, sun chips, etc. I got home and said, "Somethings going on" and took the test the next day.

With my first, I ate everything and anything. I gained 93 lbs and had a 10lbs 5oz baby boy.

With my second, I followed a modified version of low carb. I gained 26 lbs and had a 7lb 13 oz baby girl.

I lost the weight I gained with the second, but not with the first.

My first ended in c section, my second was a vbac.

my low carb pregnancy ruled over my first-I felt soooo much better this time around

I totally agree with you pinkquinn. If we happen to have a 3rd, I'll definitely be low carbing. Not only did I feel 100% during pregnancy AND labour, but my post partum recovery was fast.

my postpardum was like night and day...like a long dark black bleak night and a cheery bright sun shiney day

hear ya loud and clear nixcarbos

First, I'm glad I'm here reading this thread as I've been allowing more carbs than usual since I found out I was pg (partly craving, partly stress, partly tempermental tummy). There's been a lot of inspiration here to tighten up and focus more on the fruits and veggies. For that, I thank you.

Second, what I found amusing about this thread, was DirtyWater always had an answer. Of course, the OB office had nurses doing LC and how convenient for DW's argument that they were the ones to reinforce the no LC message during PG. Clearly, DirtyWater has spent a lot of time thinking through her arguments which is to be applauded, however, what I found lacking imo was any good research on the other side of the debate. It's not enough to find data that proves your point, you've also got to research the other end of the spectrum.

Anyway, great thread!

F

That's b/c there is no research showing LCing or ketosis to be safe or beneficial in pregnancy! I only have my experience to go by!

Similarly, I cycled over 100 miles a week while pregnant, because every time I tried to commute by bus, I puked. In spite of a high carb vegetarian diet at the time, I was often in ketosis, and had a problem-free pregnancy and an easy birth.

No-one is going to do a large scale study on the effects of ketosis in pregnancy in case there is the slightest risk to the babies. The best you can hope for is individual case studies.

I agree! I could find no source in this article for this outrageous claim. Dr. Atkins made a strong distinction between ketoacidosis associated with diabetes and benign dietary ketosis which, like you (and me), he believed to be part of our common history.

I've really enjoyed reading this thread. It makes me a lot more comfortable with my decision to do this the low-carb way - especially reading about women who had one high-carb pregnancy (weight gain, large baby, long gestation, etc.), and one low-carb pregancy (less weight gain, faster recovery, etc.). It reminds me of a woman I used to work with. She weighed MAYBE 90 pounds and was pregnant with her second child. Like the first pregnancy, she had debilitating morning sickness. She ended up fainting a few times, and she was being closely monitored by her doctors. She just couldn't hold anything down. I remember seeing her sitting at her desk at work and sipping on a gigantic bottle of fruit juice throughout the day. I can't help but wonder if she wouldn't have been free of some of her symptoms if she had chosen a chef salad to pick at instead.

My wife is wanting to eat healthy and not worry about adding carbs. She's going to eat meats, cheese(for dairy), lots of vegies, and some fruit. She currently weighs 245 pounds and has a BMI of 47. If she eats healthy she's likely to lose weight. It's hard to believe that her gaining the normal 30 pounds would be healthy for her or the baby.

A lot of people on here and on other sites act as if this is a vanity issue. "You can lose your weight after your pregnancy."

Anyone have any thoughts on her situation?

What really irks me about the whole tone of this thread is the attitude of "doctor knows all".

Medical doctors get very minimal training in nutrition. They are experts in pathology- recognizing when something strays from normal. They are NOT experts in nutrition, unless the individual doctor has put extra time into the topic.

I don't talk to my medical doctor about my diet- other than her general recomendation last June that I need to lose weight. I don't talk to my kids' doctors about their diets either- quite frankly I've probably spent more hours researching nutrition than any of them have!

I don't have a problem with a doctor telling a patient to eat a certain way based on her own specific medical needs. Perhaps the individual can't handle fats or protein as well as "most people", or needs a higher amount of certain nutrients, or needs to limit the quantity of certain nutrients.

But I do have a problem with medical doctors (with their limited nutritional background) making blanket statements about diet during pregnancy.


Oh, my, I didn't realize this was a 2 year old thread when I started reading it!

For the guy who asked about his overweight pg wife- I've heard that it can be safe to maintain weight while pg- basically if she "loses" 30 lbs of fat while gaining 30 lbs of baby, placenta, etc, then it all evens out. Another common pattern among overweight pg women is to maintain through most of the pg, maybe even lose a little during the first trimester, then gain 10-15 lbs towards the end of pg.

I would suggest that she eat as healthy a diet as possible, and not worry too much about the scales. If she's feeding her body right, her body will shed fat if it's healthy to do so or hang onto it if it's not.