pre-natal dieting

  I was on a starvation diet for about three and a half weeks.  I know this was stupid, but I did it and lost about thirteen pounds.  My problem is that during the end of it, I may have gotton pregnant.
  I am married and would like to keep the baby.  What could be the effect on the baby's health, or the normalcy of the pregnancy? In particular, did I form an adequate nourishing environment in the womb, given that my nutritional intake was so restricted.  Can that be made up for later?  The day that I had unprotected sex, I started eating normally again and taking vitamins.
Dear Angela:
Diet will not influence the lining of the uterus and your ability to produce a supportive environment for pregnancy to attach and grow: hormones determine this activity. Dieting can disrupt hormones, but almost always this interrupts ovulation.
Acute dieting (3-4 weeks) can deplete vitamins and minerals. This is reversed by multiple vitamin/mineral supplements.
Early pregnancy is a time when environmental insults are either so severe that the pregnancy is lost as an early miscarriage or so repairable that the outcome a a normal baby. For the uncommon circumstances where the pregnancy continues and has been affected, there is no "catch up therapy".
Keywords: diet, conception, early pregnancy
This information is provided for education purposes and is not a medical constulation. If you have specific questions, please contact your physician.