Breathless and Pregnant

I always thought that that was normal. It happened to me all the time. I've read in so many baby books written by OB's that this often happens. I was quite breathless the bigger that I got; all that weight in front of me.

The only advice I can give is call your dr. Just a thought could this be an anxiety attack?

Probably you need a better diet- go see Dr. Bruce West at Health Alert- he has an explanation for heart problems that may help you right away- stay away from medical folks- because they only have drugs and surgery, and from what you have said that is not what you need. Really- run to Dr. Bruce West!
best, k

Joanna is right on track. Even if you feel like you have things under control, is there something underlying that may be bugging you?

With my first, probably about 20-22 weeks had had a lot of problems with shortness of breath. They first ruled out twins. Then thought I had developed asthma and went through those tests. THEN thought I had bronchitis and/or pneumonia and I had x-rays to rule that out! They came up with stress. I remember telling my doc, "what do you mean I'm stressed? I'm pregnant, working full time, going to school full time and we're buying a house! I'm not stressed!!" But I thought I had things under control and people at work (floor nurse 12 hour shifts) kept telling me they couldn't believe how well I was doing with all I had going on.

Even now, many years later, if I have problems with shortness of breath, if I think long enough I can usually come up with something bugging me.

Good Luck

I first was diagnosed with anemia at 13 years of age, and all of these years, if I don't take iron supplements regularly [I really hate taking any pills regularly], I have shortness of breath and my heart pounds- especially going up stairs, but even just from a change in position like if I've been sitting at the computer for a while and then get up to walk to the bathroom. When I was pregnant, while taking the prenatal vitamins every day, I still could not even take a shower for longer than 15 minutes or I would feel weak and dizzy.
Google "anemia heart pounding" or "anemia heart palpitations" and "anemia shortness of breath" and you will see that both are a symptom and I'm guessing that when you get your iron levels up, you'll feel better.
Of course, there's always a possibility that something else is causing your symptoms, so if you are still not feeling sure I would not hesitate to see a doctor again.

I had this issue with both pregnancies during my first trimester. I'd be sitting there and all of a sudden my heart would start racing and I couldn't catch my breath. My doctor, while assuring me that this does happen sometime, thoroughly checked me out and it was nothing. He did recommend that I stay hydrated and when the breathless spells come on to try to drink ice cold water (which, oddly enough helped). By my second trimester, I wasn't experiencing the issues anymore.

My sister in law had this problem but it was due to being overweight and the doctor put her on a safe diet to follow while pregnant. She lost 13 pounds during her pregnancy and had a beautiful healthy baby. Other than that I really don't know what to tell you other than look for second opinions.

I have the same issue, I have a heart murmur that is really only noticeable when pregnant. And it is very much so there clearly with this pregnancy my third. I did not have this issue with my first the hard of breathing and heart pounding, I can hear it in my head clearly, but I didn't have the anemia problem with my other two, I have been taking slow FE but still not much relief, Started in the second trimester for me and is still going strong now at 37 weeks, all I can think of now is how I am so glad it's almost over.

Now this is not to say that if you feel it is something more you shouldn't go in. Anytime you don't feel right just go in. Most doctors/midwives/ob's will agree better safe then sorry when pregnant.

Hi C.,

I took one look at your heading, and I thought, "She's anemic", and sure enough, when I read your post, you mentioned that you were found to be anemic. This also happened to me in my last and current pregnancy. My midwife suggested Floradix. It is a liquid iron supplement that will not constipate, and it tastes really good, too. I can't do iron pills. I've tried them all, and no luck, but I love Floradix. You can get it at most health food stores, but I would recommend calling first, and making sure they do carry it. I've had a few store owners try to sell me their "wonderful" supplements, but I just smiled and told them BEEN THERE, DONE THAT NO THANK YOU! I cannot argue with the result I got with Floradix. Within a day or two, I felt so normal again! Iron deficiency can wreak havoc on your body! It's a little spendy (I guess that really depends on what you consider spendy), but well worth it! BTW-not to put any fear into you, but anemia during pregnancy also puts you at a higher risk for postpartum hemmorhage. Give it a try. I know you don't think this could be a big deal, but anemia really is nothing to mess around with. Good luck!

K.

This kind of happened to me, I had the racing heart and breathless feeling too with my second pregnancy, the doctor put me on a monitor for 1 week and had me journal what I was doing (walking, laying down, what ever) and he did do blood work, I was anemic and had a rapid heart beat (wow, what a diagnosis LOL) but I just had to take it easy, I hate Iron pills so I had to look for food that was iron fortified, (iron kids bread, not sure if it is still around) and stuff like that, no caffeinated drinks. Lots and lots of water, (I LOVED water any way) and try to limit my climb up and down stairs. Hubby would take the laundry down stairs for me and he put a TV and little fridge down there too with a little love seat, so I stayed down in the basement when I washed clothes, (and toys for our 2 year old) (if he was at work she'd stay down there with me) it helped but it did not go away until after I had her and I still can not drink regular soda, and have to monitor my caffeine intake, baby is now 9, But all worth it.

I had those symptoms when I was pregnant with my son. I was very anemic. I could not even walk across the living room without getting out of breath and having to sit down. Once my anemia was treated my symptoms resolved. Are you being treated for your anemia? Anemia is usually caused by a decrease in hemoglobin and hematocrit the portion of the red blood cell that carries oxygen to your organs and cells. If you are not getting enough oxygen to your organs and cells you will feel tired and out of breath and with severe anemia you can have some cardiac symptoms.

If you feel that something more than anemia is going on then I suggest you get a second opinion with a doctor affiliated with a different hospital. You were hospitalized so I am assuming that you had a full cardiac workup and a respiratory workup along with thorough evaluation of your blood work? I would request the results of your blood work, take a look at the numbers for your Hemoglobin and hematocrit and see how low.

Go to the emergency room if your symptoms change or get worse.

I hope you feel better.

I had shortness of breath often with my pregnancies (one pregnancy was with twins, the other a single baby). I noticed it mostly when walking up the stairs. I'd have to rest in the middle of the stair case. And I didn't gain much weight (only 17 pounds with the twins) so it wasn't that I was carrying so much weight that made me tired. Sometimes the baby is resting on the diaphragm area so that could be the issue. I also had anemia, which definitely can make you feel tired and out of breath. Just keep checking in with the doctors...