I have extreme vomiting & weight loss in my 1st trimester. Will it hurt my baby?

First of all I want to apologize to you, it sounds like you've had a very difficult time during this pregnancy. You've been so sick, you've lost 12 pounds and you're down to 118 pounds. You've definitely got a severe case of morning sickness which is called hyperemesis gravidarum. Morning sickness affects a lot of pregnancies and is actually a healthy part of pregnancy but it becomes unhealthy if it causes you to lose weight, become dehydrated, or at risk for dehydration. You asked some very specific questions. Why is the trimester that is most nutritionally important to my baby the one where you can't eat? That's a great question. Researchers really don't know why women get really sick during the first trimester but they have some suspicions. Human chorionic gonadotropin, or HCG, which is an essential part of pregnancy, it's a hormone your body secretes to help support the pregnancy, is at its highest levels during the first trimester. Because women are most sick during their first trimester it usually starts between weeks five and six and peaks at week nine and can last until 16-18 weeks. They think that because this follows the trend of HCG that it has something to do with that. That is a good question, why does it have to be that way? It's unfortunate and it's definitely unfortunate that you've had a hard time. Is it going to cause any harm to your baby, that's another question that you asked. It can actually cause harm to you and the baby if you don't receive treatment. Stay in close contact with your doctor, follow any advice that they've given you, and if they recommend certain treatments then make sure you follow through and do that. When you're not feeling nauseated drink lots of fluid, eat a bland diet and eat small regular meals throughout the day. Try to increase your protein intake, find something high in protein that your body can tolerate. Just do your best to keep things down. If you're having a day when you can't keep any food or fluids down call your doctor and they'll decide if something needs to be done at thing time. I really hope this doesn't last the whole pregnancy for you. Usually it starts to subside around weeks 20 to 21 or so. Sometimes it does last further into the pregnancy and it's more likely to happen if your mother or any sisters had it too. It can run in the family. Good luck. I hope that you're able to make it through this. If you have any other questions for me feel free to ask them on our Facebook page at Facebook.com/IntermountainMoms and recommend us to your friends and family too.