I’m sure it’s *possible* but it’s definitely more risky than not. Also bmi 16 is not “slightly” underweight.

 

My mum had a bmi of about 16 when she had me. I didn't get enough nutrition in the womb to develop fully and my spine never formed properly so I've had a CSF leak from birth which isn't fun. And I had some other health issues when I was born (Meconium aspiration syndrome, jaundice etc) but at least I fully recovered from those. I had to stay in hospital for a long time after I was born though.

I don't think it was my mum being underweight that caused the issues though, I think it was the fact that she restricted and did drugs whilst pregnant with me.

 

is it possible for your child to survive? yes.

healthy pregnancy? no

 

Most VS models have BMI of 17-19, so it's not always super comparable to 16. The lower the number gets, the more each decimal point affects the body.. The less you weigh, the more you're supposed to gain during pregnancy, and rapid weight changes aren't too good for the body.

Also, a few VS models over the years have struggled with getting pregnant. We can't be sure why of course, but being model thin plus tall can't help y'know? If you plan to become pregnant, try to get a head start on a healthy weight/diet. It gets harder when you're body is tryna re-create that alien movie <3

 

really not a good idea, would not recommend. pregnancy takes an immense toll on a person's body, and growing a human being inside of you requires a lot of calories for fuel !!

it's worth mentioning that celebs/models who have "healthy pregnancies" at low weights probably all have access to fertility treatments, hormones, constant medical monitoring & the like. they definitely have an advantage over the normal population.

when i was in IP, we had one woman at a BMI of about 15-16 who was pregnant - she wanted the baby so bad and she was trying SO hard to recover, but ultimately, she had a miscarriage. it was devastating :-(

 

I'm sure it's *possible* but it's definitely more risky than not. Also bmi 16 is not "slightly" underweight.

Oh, what is it then? Mine is 16.2 and I feel huge still and no one in my life seems concerned by my appearance

 

please please please make sure no matter what weight/bmi you are, make sure you are very mentally sound and good within yourself before involving another person. pregnancy when your eating disordered can be just as dangerous for YOU as the baby.

 

Oh, what is it then? Mine is 16.2 and I feel huge still and no one in my life seems concerned by my appearance

unfortunately we live in a disordered society in which being bmi 16 is seemed as 'normal', it's still v much underweight

 

Pregnancy SHOULD result in significant weight gain, if it's healthy. So especially if you start at BMI 16, and end the pregnancy still at BMI 16, absolutely not.

Healthy weight gain during pregnancy requires a gain of on average 25-40lbs/11.5-18kg for one child, for 37-55lbs/17-25kg for twins. Note that my mother, who struggled with untreated Atypical Anorexia most of her life, had twins. Which yes, really fucked with her mental space and body forever more.

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If you struggle to get to or maintain a BMI 16, or have to think about it and plan in order to stay there, that's the easiest way in the world to determine it is not healthy for you personally. It is clinically significantly underweight, and also, you have to try hard to keep it, and consciously put in effort and control everything around you. So it's obvs not natural, and therefore likely very harmful to your health - regardless of all the unhealthy mindset of the people you have around you, whom I would recommend you get away from as much as possible BTW in favor of healthier people - especially since you will need healthy people around your child also, so they don't grow up with such toxic messages. Also, inherently anybody on a proana website, who is worried about maintaining BMI even in the face of a pregnancy which is obviously going to increase BMI significantly, is clearly not in a healthy space.

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As a side note, many people who mention being very underweight but not having community members who are concerned, have a few reasons that may happen:

1. a lot of anorexics wear a bunch of layers or baggy clothes, which can hide being underweight

2. if you have smaller bone structure, or a body shape that means all your skinnier features are usually under clothes, people may not be aware

3. about 50% of anorexics grow a much higher body fat percentage as a result of the disease, because the constant malnutrition leads to bone and muscle loss, and then fat retention to try to keep you alive - which means even though one may be struggling so much and so ill and feeling absolutely terrible and yes also very underweight, one might also have the same or more body fat percentage/ratio per weight, as when one was at healthy weight. So it might not look outwardly to some people as though there is a medical problem, even though this is critical. Add to this that many anorexics also have bloated stomachs from destroyed GI systems, and bloated from from b/ping, and sadly many also have edema from heart failure. So there is a critical life-threatening problem that NEEDS interventional, but people many not be able to see it well visually, especially if your body is prone to being really tough and healthy so you still have blood circulation and look halfway alive, or if you were sick your whole life and so people are used to seeing you ill and thus desensitized to it. The antidote to this, ironically, is to eat way more of better foods over a period of at least a year or more, while exercising only a reasonable amount - because then the body actually gets way smaller, since muscle takes up less space than fat, even if the weight stays the same or goes up significantly. Sadly, this is the part where one is engaged in much healthier behaviors, but suddenly everyone around might get worried - because the shrinking and fat loss is noticeable, even though the person might actually be eating 2000-4500 cals per day, and really trying harder to live and harm reduce with the ED, or even if they feel mostly recovered and happier. But admittedly, it is really hard for a person with ED to handle weight loss or fat loss of any sort, without going way overboard.

4. unfortunately, people with naturally curvy, or muscular, bodies may not always appear underweight - especially when clothed - to others. This is because there is shape to the form. Likewise, people who retain a full face despite starvation - which is especially common for younger people. And, people who have issues like hypothyroidism or lipodema, which are both fairly common among anorexics.

5. some people are surrounded in their lives by total dicks, who don't actually give a shit how healthy they are - if this is the case, RUN, and do not look back or take a moment to feel guilty - one can build new family, and new friends, I promise!

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Nobody with an active ED should be planning to get pregnant though. Having a child while in the throes of a life-threatening mental illness that involves active daily self harm and dangerous thoughts, is obviously not a good idea, when at all avoidable. Recovery is critical - if not prior to pregnancy, then certainly at the point that pregnancy is confirmed if it was unplanned. Fetus development is very fragile, but especially in the early months. The toxic behaviors of ED can have lifetime effects on the baby, and I can tell you from experience, growing up with a mother who has an ED and very low self esteem, is extremely toxic and harmful as an experience also - no matter how much they think they can hide it from the kid, kids internalize that stuff. Pregnancy changes the body permanently - so someone with ED history, even if not an active ED, will need plenty of support, and possibly from ED professionals, to handle feelings about body changes during pregnancy, and after.

And there is nothing like modeling confidence, self love, and self compassion and acceptance, for a healthy baby to grow up around! It changes everything in the world about life. <3

 

Yes I'm aware this is a better question for a doctor. And yes, if I become pregnant I will ask one.

BTW, you would be very wise, if you are in any way in circumstances to possibly get pregnant, to ask your doctor BEFORE getting pregnant. Having healthy and happy kids takes a lot of planning. It's not something you can fall into by accident, and then figure out later. The fetus is very affected by any trauma and unhealthy conditions while in the womb, from an early time. Even something accidental like getting the flu during pregnancy, can sometimes have an affect on the baby medically years later. So ideally, you want the best conditions possible for the fetus, starting from inception. Which means prepping the body, and the mental state, beforehand. And yeah, not having an active ED at the time.

One also has to question the father in this circumstance, who is, one would assume, knowingly and willingly impregnating someone who has active anorexia. Which is super concerning and questionable, in terms of his decision-making and ability to be a good and caring parent. (Or any doctor who would be willing to do this for a patient, if it happened to be a case of a sperm bank baby.) So there is a whole lot to think about, before embarking on this life-changing decision that will affect many people, far beyond just yourself.

Also, consider how many people who have been MPA members, have had their kids taken away, or died and left their kids alone, as a result of keeping their ED and choosing it repeatedly over their kids. Having a healthy pregnancy is not the end of your concerns when it comes to kids and ED. The concerns also extend to passing on the ED to the child(ren), and to having your kid taken away because the govt determines you to be an unfit parent, as well as to scarring the kid for life during the course of your waxing and waning ED and then leaving them ultimately when the illness causes cardiac arrest or a massive seizure, which the kid might be physically present to witness. Sadly, it is not alarmist to bring up these things - because they do happen with some frequency to members who have been here.

 

BTW, you would be very wise, if you are in any way in circumstances to possibly get pregnant, to ask your doctor BEFORE getting pregnant. Having healthy and happy kids takes a lot of planning. It's not something you can fall into by accident, and then figure out later. The fetus is very affected by any trauma and unhealthy conditions while in the womb, from an early time. Even something accidental like getting the flu during pregnancy, can sometimes have an affect on the baby medically years later. So ideally, you want the best conditions possible for the fetus, starting from inception. Which means prepping the body, and the mental state, beforehand. And yeah, not having an active ED at the time.

One also has to question the father in this circumstance, who is, one would assume, knowingly and willingly impregnating someone who has active anorexia. Which is super concerning and questionable, in terms of his decision-making and ability to be a good and caring parent. (Or any doctor who would be willing to do this for a patient, if it happened to be a case of a sperm bank baby.) So there is a whole lot to think about, before embarking on this life-changing decision that will affect many people, far beyond just yourself.

Also, consider how many people who have been MPA members, have had their kids taken away, or died and left their kids alone, as a result of keeping their ED and choosing it repeatedly over their kids. Having a healthy pregnancy is not the end of your concerns when it comes to kids and ED. The concerns also extend to passing on the ED to the child(ren), and to having your kid taken away because the govt determines you to be an unfit parent, as well as to scarring the kid for life during the course of your waxing and waning ED and then leaving them ultimately when the illness causes cardiac arrest, which the kid might be physically present to witness. Sadly, it is not alarmist to bring up these things - because they do happen with some frequency to members who have been here.

Thank you so much for your informative answer to my question. I am not actively trying to become pregnant I only said that because it does happen unplanned even if you use protection. I'm on birth control but it can still happen.

I live with my husband and we have talked about trying for children in a couple years at which point I will make every effort to recover.

 

i have nothing to add scientifically, but my mom was somewhere between bmi 15-16 when she had my sister & i. i honestly wish she hadn't. i'm not sure if there is a direct connection biologically but we both have horrible health issues & wound up with some really unhealthy food behaviors directly from how she raised us. i'm not saying she caused my ed because there are layers of factors, but she definitely exacerbated it & practically taught me her own anorexic habits.

there's just no way a starving person who lacks nutrients for their own body can grow a healthy baby imo, let alone raise them. she did her best and loved us but it was 100% not enough, we had very poor quality of life.

 

BTW, you would be very wise, if you are in any way in circumstances to possibly get pregnant, to ask your doctor BEFORE getting pregnant. Having healthy and happy kids takes a lot of planning. It's not something you can fall into by accident, and then figure out later. The fetus is very affected by any trauma and unhealthy conditions while in the womb, from an early time. Even something accidental like getting the flu during pregnancy, can sometimes have an affect on the baby medically years later. So ideally, you want the best conditions possible for the fetus, starting from inception. Which means prepping the body, and the mental state, beforehand. And yeah, not having an active ED at the time.

One also has to question the father in this circumstance, who is, one would assume, knowingly and willingly impregnating someone who has active anorexia. Which is super concerning and questionable, in terms of his decision-making and ability to be a good and caring parent. (Or any doctor who would be willing to do this for a patient, if it happened to be a case of a sperm bank baby.) So there is a whole lot to think about, before embarking on this life-changing decision that will affect many people, far beyond just yourself.

Also, consider how many people who have been MPA members, have had their kids taken away, or died and left their kids alone, as a result of keeping their ED and choosing it repeatedly over their kids. Having a healthy pregnancy is not the end of your concerns when it comes to kids and ED. The concerns also extend to passing on the ED to the child(ren), and to having your kid taken away because the govt determines you to be an unfit parent, as well as to scarring the kid for life during the course of your waxing and waning ED and then leaving them ultimately when the illness causes cardiac arrest or a massive seizure, which the kid might be physically present to witness. Sadly, it is not alarmist to bring up these things - because they do happen with some frequency to members who have been here.

Seconding this, comitting to gain weight and eat enough whilst pregnant and then go back to disordered behaviours once the baby is born will do so much harm to your child in the long run. My mum never recovered and I ended up in the foster system and with anorexia myself from a very young age.

And then she died when I was 14 and she was still really young, it could have easily been prevented. She honestly never should have had a child. Once you have kids, it's not just your life that anorexia is detroying anymore.

 

Here's my unpopular and blunt opinion:

If you have an active ED, DO NOT plan to have children. If you have an active ED and you become pregnant unintentionally and you intend on keeping it, then you have to commit to recovery ASAP.

Parents with active EDs are not healthy parents. Period. They teach their children a lot of problematic things and not to mention ED behaviors while pregnant can seriously mess up development.

Honestly. A child should not witness their parents b/p, starve themselves, weigh food obsessively, exercise excessively, starve to death in front of them, and basically have someone that's half available to take care of them. And yes, children figure it out. People with EDs aren't as sneaky as they think they are and children are sponges.

I grew up with a chronically ill mother. I love her. She tried her best and tried to do what she could. But it still left scars on my psyche.

My sympathies to parents and pregnant women trying to parent and everything while having children. It's tough. I wish the best for all of you and your children.

 

In pretty sure you can there’s a pod cast called red scare and one of the hosts is like bmi 15 id day and had a baby and seemed all good

 

In pretty sure you can there's a pod cast called red scare and one of the hosts is like bmi 15 id day and had a baby and seemed all good

Don't even go there.

The word is "seemed all good". You have no fucking clue how the baby is doing now. How the child is doing now. How the mother is doing now with her health.

I get that we're all disordered here but DO NOT spread misinformation and anecdotes as fact.

 

There's a reason my period is fucked up, I lose it and why there's probably no eggs released. Your body below the safe point knows you can't sustain a growing life- if you fall pregnant, you're putting your life at incredible risk- fuck a healthy kid or long term issues there which would be real, you would be playing Russian roulette with your body during and after.

Your value in life is not your ability to have kids no matter what we were brought up with. And I say this because there is nothing wrong with girls (or boys) playing with dolls but something that should definitely be called into question is giving fucking three year olds a doll baby because having a baby is what girls do.

You could excuse that shit in the 90s- not the fact that how special having a baby is, is still pushed on girls too young to even be in kindergarten in 2021. I'm not anti kid, I am pro girls and women can be whatever they want and shouldn't have stuff pushed on them, a lot of stuff women are told not to do would apply equally to guys or isn't that bad, but is bad for 'carrying babies'. So I'm over the desire to put pregnancy over individuality.

 

no

 

It's very unlikely especially if you are engaging in eating disordered behaviours to have a healthy pregnancy. Its likely you would struggle to get pregnant in the first place and then struggle to keep the baby and not miscarry with premature birth likely. Looking up effects of malnutrtion in pregnancy in the first trimester it puts a child at risk of obeasity and coninary heart disease, in the secod or third trimester it puts a child at risk of develop glucose intolerance, lung diseases, hyper tension, type two diabetes, osteoporosis and organ dysfunction increases. There is also increased lifetime proneness to infection, low IQ/cognitive inmpaiment.

In terms of specific nutrients:
Low idodine levels can lead to poor brain development and low thyriod function can result in neurological cretinism, folate definincy can lead to neural tube deficits, and zinc deficincy can lead to slow fetal growth and increased birth defects. Low calcium can lead to brittle bones and low iron to anemia. Many nutrients need fat to be absorbed into the body so if you don't have fats in your diet you will struggle to get some nutrients even if you are taking suppliments.

Pregancy and the hormones involved and the sleep deprivation/extra stressors post birth put you at greater risk of triggering mental illlness so if you are already struggling with an ED you are at higher risk of developing perinatal and post natal mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety and even psychosis.

Finally its important that you are in a good place in your recovery since children will pick up on your unhealthy beliefs and behaviours around your body and food from a young age if you aren't getting support for it.

Recovery can be a long and difficult process and can take years so it's great that you and your husband are thinking ahead regarding future children so you can start the process soon so you have a few years to get to a good place mentally and physically before going through such a stressful (physically and mentally) process that is pregancy, birth and raising a child.

 

Absolutely not. Additionally, I think even if you're at a healthy weight (or even overweight) it's best to try and avoid having children when you have an ED so you don't pass on ED behaviours to them.

 

Don't even go there.

The word is "seemed all good". You have no fucking clue how the baby is doing now. How the child is doing now. How the mother is doing now with her health.

I get that we're all disordered here but DO NOT spread misinformation and anecdotes as fact.

She's talked about it on her podcast and said it all went well and that there both healthy though

 

Wow reading all these replies really makes me feel like an outlier.

I got pregnant with a bmi of 15.2 and I had my baby at a bmi of 15.5.

All the way through pregnancy, everything was fine with no problems.

He came out at a higher weight than average and he was perfectly healthy. I was absolutely fine too

 

Wow reading all these replies really makes me feel like an outlier.

I got pregnant with a bmi of 15.2 and I had my baby at a bmi of 15.5.
All the way through pregnancy, everything was fine with no problems.
He came out at a higher weight than average and he was perfectly healthy. I was absolutely fine too

In biology and just in statistics and life in general, there's always going to be the exception to the rule.

Like could someone theoretically do drugs, smoke, or drink during a pregnancy and be ok? Yes. Does this mean that doing such behaviors doing a pregnancy is advisable for the health and safety of you or pregnancy? No. Does the fact that there are the outliers make the above mentioned behaviors then safe and ideal conditions for having a child? No.

So yeah. The presence of outliers doesn't really surprise me. But with every rule, there seems to be an exception and exceptions don't serve to disprove the entire rule. Looking through this thread, I'm seeing a lot more people with first hand experience of how they had been harmed.

I'm glad that you managed to have a healthy pregnancy and I wish you and your child the best 💝

 

I will add that anyone with an ED who gets pregnant. No matter the weight, should tell their OB/GYN about their ED history and get specific help about this if at all possible.

EDs could very well make your pregnancy a high risk pregnancy. And to those that think that because they're.of a "normal" or overweight bmi that they're safe, nope. It's been noted that people with bulimia have higher rates of miscarriage than people without. Malnutrition is malnutrition no matter what the bmi or weight of you is and that's not at all good for you or the pregnancy.

 

If your BMI is naturally 16, then maybe, just maybe, although I'm pretty sure you'd still have to gain to be able to sustain a baby. Maybe that's why pregnant women have cravings, so they eat to provide the baby a healthy, like, space and give it the nutrients it needs.

Just what I think, I've done no research on this whatsoever.