ADHD and Pregnancy with Dusty Chipura - First Trimester

Welcome to the second episode of our six-part series on ADHD and Pregnancy, where I sit down with Master-certified ADHD coach and pregnancy expert Dusty Chipura! In this episode, we talk about some things one might expect to experience during their first trimester... and how that interplays with ADHD... or in the future! Dusty and I both share our personal experiences and cover topics one should consider when you know you want kids! And some of the struggles that happen along the way...

This video is not medical advice.
In this video, I speak about my personal experience with pregnancy, including medical decisions that I made in collaboration with my doctors. If you have specific questions about ADHD and pregnancy, please consult with your doctor.

"The Six Trimesters of Pregnancy" by Amos Grünebaum

The ADHD And Pregnancy Workbook (Notion template) was developed by Dusty Chipura in conjunction with Alix Bacon, registered midwife and president of the Canadian Association of Midwives. This workbook will help you stay organized during your ADHD Pregnancy and know what to expect from pregnancy & labor:

Pregnancy & ADHD Workbook - Notion Template Setup & Tour by Sydni Rubio @WhatintheADHD

Check out Dusty Chipura's stuff here:

Check out Alix Bacon's stuff here:
Alix's consult-based website offers medical consults for ADHD in pregnancy

Turns out there are several non-alcoholic beers that are rich in folic acid, but the one Dusty mentions in the video is Erdinger. It is often promoted as being a “healthy alcohol free beer” not just because of its folic acid content, but also due to its B12 and polyphenol count. In fact, in Germany, it is apparently touted as a post workout drink.

00:00 Intro
01:13 Our Personal Experiences
04:35 The Two-Week Wait
17:38 Support Network
20:47 ADHD Medication
25:59 Forgetfulness
29:51 Heartburn
30:50 Reminders
33:23 Habit Changes
36;32 Nutrition
39:41 What's Most Important

Music credits for "ADHD and Pregnancy with Dusty Chipura - First Trimester":
"Life of Riley", "The Show Must Be Go”
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

[littledoe]

As an ADHD pregnant mama, let me tell you this is soo needed. The mental distress of not being able to focus like I use to (with the help of my concerta) at work and seeing how I wasn’t able to meet expectations was soo upsetting and made me feel guilty for my team. So, glad this is being talked about and definitely want to hear about all the other trimesters. Currently in my 3rd.

[crystalmptacek]

I have never heard anyone talk about pregnancy and ADHD other than my mom. Who has little to no understanding of her ADHD. I can't wait to see more content like this in the future.

[nerdygirllovesmakeup]

I have combination ADHD and my energy levels were so zapped during pregnancy. Thanks for making a video about this topic. It is so needed for our community.

[penelopefp]

My morning sickness was so bad that sitting at an intersection watching cars go by made me dizzy and more sick.

I couldn't stand anything cold, no cold fruit, no cold water. I would stand by the frig, decide what I needed, then quickly open the door, get what I needed and close it. I would eat room temperature yogurt.

The stress of not telling anyone at work seemed to make it worse. As soon as I was able to tell coworkers, the sickness became less intense. Still sick, but not as bad.

I was not diagnosed until the kids were in elementary school so I had no idea about any of this. I felt guilty that I didn't enjoy pregnancy the way society seemed to project the joys of pregnancy or early motherhood.
This video would have been such a mental buoy!!

[TheMessCalledJess]

OH MY GOD. YOU MADE THIS FOR ME. I have been depressed as I can’t take my meds, and I have seen a huge dip in my performance. But now I struggle with focusing on work, I feel like I have to change my space and start preparation and focus on baby, to the point that I find myself “not caring” about work. Like a switch I can’t turn off. I feel like I’m going insane, and none of my neurotypical friends understand. They’re like “you’re fine, just focus on work, you have time, do it on the weekends.” They have no clue what it is like to have alarms going off in your head as if fixing the house and nesting is an emergency. I have even started taking time off of work to do it because I’m already useless. This is the worst my hyper-focusing has ever been, it makes the pregnancy so rough.

Even my ADHD husband does not get it, but he does hyperfocus on things that are adjacent to baby, because I’m already work on the space and the stuff. So he works on our food, and things to protect our house like changing the locks. He’s thinking about a different/new car. So he gets it, but it doesn’t seem to understand my urgency, so it must be the hormones

[pippiniyt]

After this Please do an ADHD and Perimenopause video.

[aycaozdemir]

The idea of having a child is terrifying for me. What if I make mistakes? What if they have ADHD and I cannot help them? What if I forget something really important? What if I hurt them by mistake?... There are so many things that make me anxious.

[Hi_Im_Akward]

A good med managment tactic I have is writing notes on bottle caps. I'm not pregnant but I need to be able to look at my meds at a glance so I know dose and kind and time of day especially if they are new.

I also have 2 med organizers for my daily (which are bigger) and travel (which is more compact and has only the basics). So I have everything organized for morning/afternoon/evening and know exactly what I have and have not taken. I fill them every Sunday evening and travel organizer is really important to help me when I get out of a routine to make sure I have SOMETHING. I have used my travel meds when i forgot to do my regular every day meds.

[emilyhastaste]

Very timely video, and also, congratulations! Currently 14wks from IVF as well, I swear my brain is lagging. Looking forward to more videos specific to pregnancy.

[alarcon]

As someone who was diagnosed with/ ADHD after my pregnancies, I now understand why not only I would forget I was pregnant but have no awareness of the space I was now occupying? Like now I had this “bosom” that I had never had before and it would embarrass me so much when they would “lean” on someone I was talking to (I can’t explain it more than this but if you know u know. ) Like, stay in your lane girls! Absolutely mortifying

[vlndrvv]

So true about the eating, to prevent the morning sickness ❤I’m in the second trimester thanks so much to learn very useful ❤

[tamurahildom]

I hope my daughter found this video during the first tri - which just ended. I am her go-to for fun ADHD dumping or anxiety dumping at the end of the day. Thanks for the content!

[sckilham]

I've been loving this series!! I'm pregnant for the second time and something I did differently in the first trimester this time was actually to limit my sources of information. For my first pregnancy I had so many apps and books, and it was like drinking from a firehose of info. It was so overwhelming, and sometimes there would be different information and suggestions. This time I picked 2 apps I really like and it has really helped me be able to focus on what's important to remember. My faves are the What to Expect and Pregnancy+ apps!

Also, social media can be a huge source of info and support, but I've needed to remind myself to think critically about those sources. Sometimes they were doing more harm than good for my well-being.

[viewbuster]

I really appreciate content about what is to be expected and when you should avocate for yourself with a doctor.

I was miserable with morning sickness: throwing up multiple times a day, losing 20 lbs, and getting dehydrated and ending up in the hospital. It was only this last year that I really learned that this is conditon is called hypermesis gravidarum and it is treatable.

[JustaNobody-jx]

This might be irrelevant to this video, but reading the title, I often wondered if my ADHD was stemmed from the constant stress my mother went through during her pregnancy and the resulting cortisol levels that affected me. It’s like my brain experienced some pre-birth drama and a sneak peak at all the chaos.

[nleem]

Great talk. I was worried if I got pregnant that my meds might be a problem. I'm older, 45, so not likely to get pregnant naturally, but if it happens, we'd be so happy. Since we're not trying to get pregnant, I don't want to stop my meds, but we're also not doing anything to stop to stop it from happening. So, I was worried if it happened, since I've heard I might not know I am for a while.

[anaisthomas]

ADHD new mom over here since February. I am in maternity leave I can tell you it's been difficult with executive functions and impulsivity so far.
1. Executive functiins : You are constantly interrupted in your task with your baby crying or just needing you so of course I forget what I was doing. Like forgetting to clean the changing table after a little poop accident 🤦.
2. Impulsivity : I want to jump help my partner everytime my baby is crying (my partner does an incredible job) I just want to help but it gives the message that I don't trust him with the baby.

[juliak.]

17:03 European here 🙋‍♀️
Don't know how it is in different countries, but in Poland it is not really allowed to have even a glass of wine 🫣
No amount of alcohol is good during pregnancy

[chaaachouu]

The hardest thing for me is the struggle about keeping or stopping my medication. I spent only one day without it when I found out about my pregnancy, and I felt so much anxiety until I could see my psychiatrist.
I still take it, but now I'm afraid it will have consequences on the heartbeat of my embryo.
Between that and the constant fear of miscarriage, I can't say I'm enjoying too much the first trimester 😖

[Tak]

I was diagnosed ADHD /anxiety 3 years after my child was born 😅. Had postpartum depression & major identity crisis. Wish I'd had this, but will pass along. Definitely struggled more than I think I needed to with ADHD and pregnancy (and trauma as per another of your videos)