Pregnancy Health

Advertorial

Whilst I really miss the days of being pregnant and get more broody when I see bumps than newborns, I think I often forget how hard pregnancy was both physically and mentally. 

Just as we forget the all consuming exhaustion that comes with having a newborn once those days (weeks, month) have passed, I think I have glossed over the back ache and stress that came with growing a baby for nine months.  

I was pretty lucky with the three boys that everything was quite straightforward but it was the fourth one that changed everything.  I think one of the reasons I knew she was a girl was that everything was a bit harder with her in every sense.  Finn was only 7 months old when I fell pregnant and I think my body was still recovering from him.  I wasn't planning another baby but early November I had a little belly growing that wasn't budging and I decided to take a test - positive.  The tiredness that I had attributed to jet lag wasn't going anywhere and we had another baby to prepare for.

I grew quickly with Cora, too quickly for the charts which meant I was tested for gestational diabetes three time between 21 and 36 weeks to try and explain my (and her) size.  Thankfully I didn't have this complication because it can cause baby to grow too quickly and need to be delivered early. I did get more backache though which makes sense considering I had put on a lot of weight and my centre of gravity had changed so dramatically. I started doing an aquanatal class that helped (something I hadn't done with any of the boys) and I loved having some time to focus on me for a bit and to relieve the weight of my growing belly.  

I was so much more hormonal with my last pregnancy and whilst I didn't suffer from antenatal depression, I did find it emotionally hard and I needed more time to myself to help me feel sane.  I did have four children all under the age of five during the pregnancy so that definitely didn't help matters! Emma's Diary have put together an infographic on pregnancy health with some of the most common complications. I think it is important to be aware of these things so that you can report symptoms to your midwife as soon as you notice them!

Did you have complications in your pregnancy?