If reproduction is what we're 'designed for'

[ZadokTheBeast]

Why does pregnancy make you feel soooooo crap? Hmmm? You'd think it could all be 'designed' a bit better, no?

You would think you would feel the best you ever did in your life. It would encourage us to increase the human race!

Personally I would like men to get pregnant as well as women. I've done one DH's turn next .

No, if it was easier, people would do it more. Then we would over populate so fast the world would EXPLODE.

Im feeling philosophical tonight.

Yeah! Totally thinking that caveman days the preggos must've been first on the menu for all the predators...! And how do mood swings help with anything?!

I'm not feeling philosophical. I'm feeling irritable, and bloated, and sooooo bloody tired.

I'm pregnant too btw. If you want an irritable row, I'm happy to oblige

yeah? yeah?

And baby won't get fed if I rip my breasts off -as I currently feel like doing!

Mine is definitely not well designed ... 100 years ago my blood condition would place 9/10 pregnancies at high risk... Mind you in those days it would merely mean a smaller family.

When I grumble and an "earth mother" says it is what I was designed for, I generally grumble about the above and the 200+ fricken injections I gave myself since January! Medical science is a wonderful thing, but puking up then sticking a needle in yer bun every morning still SUCKS!
Babies are totally worth it.
But it's not exactly fun for anyone.

...maybe that's why "feeling randy round ovulation time" happens!

Bizarrely I did feel the best I ever have whilst pregnant!

Usually suffer from headaches and cramps a lot of the time and felt fabulous all the way through pregnancy.

Bum not bun. Bun would become enraged and kick me in the bladder even more were I to poke her.

Pregnancy is a means to an end...... thank god the end is in sight now.
Nothing nice about it all. Anyone who says there is is a big fat liar.

I will miss my nice taut bump when I have a doughy jelly belly though

I'm with monkey. You feel a bit rank so that you don't take it lightly, maybe also it makes you slow down a bit. I feel vile at the mo and wonder if I could ever go through it again.
I swear no one told me about the first twelve weeks being vile. The rank mouth taste, the nausea, farting and fatigue. Not one of my friends ever mentioned it. Only now do they mention it lol

Chickenme... I know! Of course I knew about the nausea, but the exhaustion? I never knew, such a nasty shock!

I have vague memories of reading that pregnancy for humans is uniquely shit. Unlike lots of other species we don't really want to get pregnant as it's a huge strain on our resources and makes us vulnerable to predators. I think the evolutionary explanation is that on top of that, human babies turn up too early and need way more care than other animals, so by making pregnancy rubbish you a) ensure a strong baby by making the mother's body a fairly hostile place at times and b) ensure that the mother is so invested in the baby that she continues to care for it after the birth, as being neglectful means you'll have to get pregnant again (noooooooooooo!)

we are not designed, we are generally cobbled together, jerry-built with the physiological equivalent of duct tape used to jolly us along into functioning. Look at the mouth/nose/pharynx/larynx/trachea combo - who the hell would say - 'well, we will have two orifices mouth and nose going into a shared space then into gut and lungs. And we will use it continously for breathing, vocalisation, but also for eating and drinking, then we need a fix for when it gets mixed up eg coughing, gagging, vomiting'
Dont even start me on the multifunctional nature of genitalia and why pregnancy hormones can make you feel so crap

nature is all well in her way but she does not give a shit about you as an individual. As long as more than 50% of mothers and babies survive she can shrug her shoulders and say 'job done, population increasing' And if less than 50% survive or we all have PTSD and stop breeding because its a shit experience she will go off and make a more successful cockroach or something

I generally like pregnancy, the swellings not fab but other than that I really really like it, I don't give a hoot about 'mum tum' or stretch marks, or saggy boobs or any of that, I love the bump, I have had worse hangovers than the heartburn and sickness, I love it when you feel movement and kicking and I don't mind a foot in the ribs or a swift kick in the lungs either - its not that bad for me.