To ask you to share your post birth ailments and whether you went on to have more children

[Dumptyhumpty101]

Since having my little girl I’m suffering with really bad piles and have hip and coccyx pain.

I’ve been to the doctors about the piles and despite being referred to the hospital they aren’t doing anything but advised I have a dropped pelvic.

I know I should get the coccyx and hip pain looked into but my daughter is almost 2 now so can’t see them doing much again.

Anyway, all of this is really making me not want to put my body through another pregnancy and labour, as I don’t want to be left in more pain afterwards.

Has anyone else been through something similar or worse and gone one to have more children?

SPD so bad I couldn't walk without agony to the bathroom, I was on crutches (didn't know what SPD was before getting pregnant, totally ill prepared).. still have major hip problems to the level of being unable to lay on one side in bed

Double incontinence, somewhat better now but a few months of being utterly miserable, I'm not old enough where this was expected, no one tells you about the risks of birth injuries, and yet all anyone wants to hear at the time of birth is when can they fucking visit to take pictures of the baby to put on social media, while I was in a torn sorry bleeding mess, I probably need counselling tbh

Cracked bleeding sore nipples, only a couple of weeks but was toe curling agonising at every latch

Csection wound infection, after spending the week barely able to change baby or get out of our crap low bed... Had a couple of good ISH days where I thought "I'm on the mend"... The floored and readmitted with infection!

I took a viral infection that landed me in hospital. It was like the flu but wasn't. Was signed off work with it at 22 weeks. Had mild spd until I slipped on a wet floor in a shop and completely twisted myself at 7months.
Giving birth was fine. Breastfeeding was a whole new experience that I wasn't ready for as I ff my first.
Mastitis twice in 3 weeks and just had to stop. He was way too hungry and my mh was failing by the day.
Ended up with awful pnd and sciatica. I have battled hard to get over the pnd but the sciatica is still there. He is 3.5years.
We want another one but omg the fear.

Emergency c-section delivery for my twins who were extremely premature and low weight due to placental complications.

Massive scar that is still slightly numb in places, lower back pain and what have you but there weren’t a huge amount of pains that remained after 9 or so months of healing from the whole thing. Most of my issues post twins were emotional/mental (PTSD from an extended NICU stay with my twins being the hardest to overcome- still going through counselling now).

After my second pregnancy which ended with my losing baby quite far through I went through labour, had a small tear, horrible piles (recurring still but improving slightly as time goes on), issues with more lower back pain due to spinal compression in the third trimester, acute tendonitis that I’m still undergoing physiotherapy for and feel like my hip to leg joints are made of rice crispies! But despite the physical pain and the emotional damage I don’t regret having had the chance to carry baby 3 and if my DH were ever up for it, I’d give it a try one last time (he isn’t and probably won’t ever be but a woman can hope right?).

I had horrible SPS & PUPPPS in pregnancy. The PUPPPS hospitalised me it was so bad, and the SPD, along with bleeds, left me on bedrest from 5 months.

Now I go regularly to an osteopath, she resets my hips. In the first year every month, now I go 2-3 times a year.

The PUPPPS, when my period comes, I get this mad itching that travels round my body. I've worked out an antihistamine stops it.

The big one was pregnancy triggered an auto immune problem, MS. That's a bitch understatement.

I absolutely would not have more children.

Hi OP. I felt wrecked after my first, episiotomy took ages to heal and awful piles. I remember needing to take pain killers for most of the first year.

It definitely meant the gap between DC1 and DC2 was bigger than we’d planned (3 and half years whereas we’d been thinking two years) as it took me at least 2 years to feel ‘normal’ again.
With number two the birth was a lot easier and it made a huge difference - I was back in the gym at 10weeks post parting and. Now at 4 months I’m training for a 10K.

Talk to your GP, mine did say that I was just unlucky 1st time and no reason 2nd would be the same - he was right.
Also I found that having a toddler to run around after during pregnancy was exhausting but I think it did help keep a bit of my fitness/ strength.

Tinnitus. The low throbbing kind, not the high pitched whining. It appeared when I was 5 months pregnant and gave me insomnia. Still have it 1 year after giving birth though I’ve learned to sleep with it.

Since my 2nd I have had chronic pain in my legs, that stems from my back which is most likely due to my posture during pregnancy (overusing the back muscles to compensate for the extra weight in the front) according to my physiotherapist. Physio has helped a huge amount but it's still there to a certain extent and it's put me off having a 3rd. Also mild faecal incontinence which is really unpleasant but it seems to be finally improving now, at 20 months post-birth.

Bladder prolapse. Only grade 2 so not bad enough for surgery. Probably won’t fall out properly until I’m past the menopause. So there’s that to look forward to.

Tinnitus caused probably by a combination of stress/lack of sleep/general health issues.

2 stone over what I was pre babies. I will loose it but now is not the right time due to lots of other issues (nothing to do with having kids!)

I think once my youngest sleeps a bit better (he’s ok, just 2 and still up at 5am) I think some of the tinnitus/sleep/stress issues will sort themselves out with help! I hope!

2 and we’re done.

An osteopath is better than physio for coccyx pain

Oh and aside from the really bad stuff (the double incontinence has been hardest to deal with, albeit it's improved with time), I can't believe I've forgotten to add stuff like being 3 -4 stone overweight to my list. It's important but I guess faded into the background when you're so wrecked that being a few stones heavier is in the more trivial category

I forgot the numbness around the csection incision site too, that doesn't bother me at all, but months later I still have pain in the belly button area if I do certain moves (jump, for example, or jog, or turn around too quickly and twist, or carry something heavy, it's like a burning stabbing pain that takes my breath away in one second then is totally gone another second).

I lost a lot of blood, had a third degree tear and could barely stand for days afterwards. Took me about 3-4 weeks before I could walk to the end of my road.
Physically - I felt very “heavy” and had the piles. I did get a referral to a physiotherapist but couldn’t make it due to snow. So never went but I should have done.

In the end I found some exercises online to help my core which was great.

I went on to have a second because I didn’t want an only child (although this was after a horrific miscarriage where I thought I was going to die from the haemorrhaging!)

But I’m so glad I did. I should have sought medical help for my post pregnancy issues - as there’s a tendency to muddle through

See theGP OP. If it helps, write it all out beforehand and clearly set out your symptoms. Even if you don’t have another child, you deserve to be helped.

Yes. I was bed ridden from 6 months pregnant. Had a prolapse bladder. Got bad water infections that left me with a broken bladder. I also have a week back. So I said no more. My body has gone down hill from then on. More and more things wrong with me. All done by having a baby. One thing goes wrong and then another. It has ruined me totally.