to have managed to give birth to 2 children and still........

[Mamazon]

not have a clue about half of the pregnancy and TTC threads are on about?

I only found out recently what SPD was (i thought it was a type of power ranger) but there are things like HCG levels and how much they have increased.

WTF????

I wouldn't know what my HCG level was or how much it should have been.
Was i just a really ignorant person who didn't take any notice? does everyone else understand these threads?

surely im not the only one that just saw the little blue line and waited for 9 months.

Im starting to think im either really thick or that i have somehoe not dedicated enough time to my pregnancies.

• sorry, amendment

don't only find out about...

I think it would be a mistake to assume that everybody who knows the terminology does so because they were overambitious and wanted to learn everything.

Some of us are absolutely charming laidback no-nonsense people who have had knowledge forced on us by life that we would rather not have had.

Like I never wanted to know all about the disability discrimination act. I don't think parents who don't know about it are bad or unambitious or doing their children a disservice. But of course there is a small part of me that thinks they're bloody lucky.

I think the crux of the issue is that some people don't want to know because they worry if they find out too much.

Other people like me and some of you as well, want to know everything because we worry if we don't know what is going on and feel unprepared to meet any problems.

Plus I found it all really interesting and wanted to know what was going on.

Not saying I have indepth knowledge of this stuff but I know what HCG is (but not the levels required for a healthy pregnancy) and I know what SPD is. I think I can even work out what Polyhydramnia is (excess amniotic fluid?).

I was lucky and had a trouble free pregnancies but knowing this stuff did help me relate to those who haven't been so fortunate.

However, I didn't do your babies any harm, I'm sure unless you went too far with the not wanting to know and didn't listen to medical advice you were given.

Mamazon, I was exactly the same! I bought a book and read the relevant chapter each month, and attended my MW appointments. I never fretted about anything really until I got hospitalised right at the end. I guess we were just lucky?

There you go, I didn't know what HCG was either, just assumed it was to do with conceiving.

Curiosity, I think HCG levels come into knowledge you pick up when you experience false positives or miscarriages.
Mamazon, I expect not many people have heard of Polyhydramnia - I haven't.
It all just depends on what experiences we have.

I mean, I think we mostly pick up the info on a need to know basis.

sorry, yes polyhydramnia is excess aniotic fluid. much more than that explanation and you'll need someone clever.

I guess your right, it is all down to what you need to know. i just felt a bit guilty that i hadn't paid as much attention to my pregnancies as maybe some of the ladies on the current threads have.

Im very glad im not alone

Generally, you only become an expert onm these things when needs must. I didnt have a clue what SPD or hyperemesis or obstetric cholestasis were until I developed them. Only found out about HCG levels when I had an m/c.

be glad you are in ignorant bliss!

I just thik you should count yourself really really lucky. People only worry about things like their HCG levels when they are having a problem trying to conceive or when they might be miscarrying. If you haven't been through either of these things then you probably didn't have much trouble getting pregnant.

so don't worry - it's definitely not because you are thick, more that you are just lucky.

I don't think you are being smug either, maybe just accidentally insensitive.

When you say "I am genuinly thinking myabe i did my children a dissrevice by not knowing this stuff" I honestly really wouldn't worry about that. The things you are worrying about not knowing are not things which would have effected your children in any way. At the point that they were viable or born things like HCG and SPD wouldn't have been much of a concern for your children.

I have learned LOADS on these boards and now know more about all the ailments and troubles I could experience if I manage to get pregnant and if I manage to have a child at the end of it than I ever did before.

paiselyleaf - yes, it can. What I mean is it doesn't ONLY so it's a bit... I want to say 'weird' but possibly not the best word, to take the OP as a personal insult.

Some people find out what they need to know only, some people want to find out everything they possibly can. What different people need to know is different so different people will have different knowledge and experiences for different reasons.

To me the OP sounded like she was having a crisis of confidence in the way she had looked at her pregnancies and for that reason, if no other, it is a bit cruel to attack her as smug and inconsiderate. Do think it is always nice to say sorry if you offend people, even if you didn't mean to though.

"You don't find out about HCG levels and SPD if you are having trouble conceiving!! "

ok - maybe not SPD but you are aware of HCG levels if you are having trouble conceiving. Miscarriage IS trouble concieving.

beanieb -
By curiositykilled Fri 11-Sep-09 11:38:33 Add a message | Report post | Contact poster

• sorry, amendment

don't only find out about...

You can be aware of HCG levels for any number of reasons from miscarriage to obsession all the way through to just being medically qualified or even related to someone who is.

miscarriage is NOT trouble conceiving, don't mean to sound harsh, but it is NOT

agree you find out what you are interested by info wise, or what you HAVE to learn because of events life hands you.....anyone heard of mosaicism....me neither till I HAD to learn

oh god no i certainly didn't mean to offend anyone.
Im in awe of some of the expert advice given on many of those threads. i simply wouldn't haver a clue.

the only advice i could give to someomne ttc is to have sex!
`
It is fantastic that so many people get so involved with their pregnancy. maybe to me it was just something that was happening to me.

But yes i agree that i have obviously been very lucky with my pregnancies. The sheer numbers of TTC threads tell me that much at least. I cannot imagine how hard it must be for those who are.

It is strange to assume that people who know about HCG levels have all miscarried and conversely strange to assume they know because they are just obsessive. The OP didn't actually express any assumptions in her post. Other people have read into and projected assumptions onto her. Which I can understand, it is a sensitive subject, but one she didn't bring up and one she shouldn't be getting a pasting for. IMO.

sure you can. The OP is talking about HCG levels and I would say that when people on here talk about HCG levels it is usually within a conversation about miscarriage or by those who are having difficulty TTC. Not sure I have ever seen anyone here mention HCG Levels purely during a general medical discussion but I could be wrong.

I would say Miscarriage is the most popular reason for posting about HCG levels here and that most posters who have a bit of an obsession about it have experienced a miscarriage already so are more aware of things like this.

Peedoff: "miscarriage is NOT trouble conceiving, don't mean to sound harsh, but it is NOT"

trouble being pregnant then. Does it matter?

(Crikey this threads teetering on the edge of people getting upset)

For normal pregnancies and normal conceptions in the UK HCG levels aren;t routinely recorded and given out..

The only people I've known to be given HCG levels have either been

• In the US
• On fertility treatment
• Possibly having a very early miscarriage where knowing the HCG levels can confirm if the pregnancy is continuing.

if you have never been in these groups then you would have no reason to know your HCG levels. I only know about them because I;ve spent a long time onf ertility boards after having problems conceiving with DD1 and DD2 - but in the same way I've never been aware of my own levels as I've never needed them taken and closely monitored.

SPD - well it has various differnt names and a HIGE range of severities....you have probably suffered the odd bit of pelvic pain but never had a name for it...and just brushed it off as something that happens when you are pregnant...

Most things are only important to know if they apply to you.

sorry - maybe that was incorrect of me to say miscarriage is trouble TTC - it feels like it to me that's all. I am probably a bit too sensitive (Although I don't think I have had any kind of a go at the OP - I understand it wasn't meant in a smug way) as I am having trouble TTC and have had a miscarriage too.

Hopefully I will only have one miscarriage, ie not another one. I think once you have had 3 then it is classed as a Conception problem. However I can see how one or two might not be seen as a problem, at least only for the woman who is going through them.

The OP says

"to have managed to give birth to 2 children and still........ not have a clue about half of the pregnancy and TTC threads are on about?"

I would suggest that the half that she is talking about are probably the people having difficulty in one way or another and this thread, though not intentionally, could upset a few people and be taken in a bad way.

Well whoop de dooh for you and your superior fertility and perfect pregnancies. What a bizarre thing to post

see?

beanie - Yes, that may well be true but those are all your own assumptions about what people posting on MN know and why. HCG levels might be spoken about on here in relation to medical discussions only but you can't know how or why people know about them or know where and what everybody is saying about them. The OP did not post "AIBU to think people are stupid for fussing about these things" she posted "did I do it wrong because I didn't know?". I don't think it's fair to treat her as if she posted the first rather than the latter. It is an unconfirmed assumption that people on MN ONLY know about HCG if they have had a miscarriage or trouble conceiving, in fact I'll say an incorrect assumption. Given that I know some about these things and have never miscarried or had trouble conceiving. By all means speak openly and abruptly as it is AIBU but I don't think you are answering the original post by accusing the OP of being smug about people with fertility or pregnancy problems.

I am as clueless as you after 4 pregnancies but as other posters have already said, the amount of complicated medical terms you learn depends on how you pregnancy goes. On that groung I am probably quite relieved not to know to many.