Pregnancy SUCKS. I can’t be the only one who thinks this?!

[Stephanieava]

Let me start this by saying I am so grateful to be carrying my baby and i cannot wait to meet them

But my god, pregnancy SUCKS! I have literally nobody in my life who feels the same, all my friends who have had babies had amazing pregnancies. Which of course I’m happy for them but it makes me insanely jealous

I am not exaggerating when I say I feel like I am dying of some sort of terminal illness. The bowel issues, the fatigue, the headaches, the sickness (still got it), the aching joints, the random crotch pains that feel like someone has jammed a thousand knives up there, the constant blocked nose, the mood swings, peeing quite literally every 5 minutes… GLAM OR WHAT? And im only 21 weeks

Anybody else feel or felt like they’re on the precipice of death every minute?! My health anxiety doesn’t help of course

Sorry, I just feel like I need a moan to those who can appreciate the gratitude but also the loneliness felt in the loathing of pregnancy. This is my 2nd baby and I am absolutely DONE after this x

Go for it, moan away. Pregnancy is fucking awful "the only healthy human condition marked by nausea, exhaustion and pain" or something like that.
Congratulations!

Oh I remember all of that. I had high blood pressure and was sick and dizzy for the whole pregnancy. Did not fucking help that there was the 30° heatwave during my last couple of weeks. Honestly felt like I was dying 😅 I know it sounds trite but honestly you will completely forget it all when your little one is put in your arms 😊

Preach!!! I am seriously struggling so much with the nausea, food aversions and fatigue. Currently 12 weeks and it's all only got progressively worse with a brief nausea respite of a few days maybe a week and a half ago.

Just thrown up my (v plain and tasty, cacio e pepe) dinner at another restaurant. Can eat genuinely about 10 individual things (not dishes) and am sick to death of them. Exhausted and mentally worn.

Of the friends on my side who've had babies already (3) none had bad nausea, one "loved being pregnant" (??) and I don't know of anyone on DH's side who really struggled with pregnancy. Close family that we've told so far keep telling me it will get better but I've had nausea since about 5.5 weeks and no end in sight especially listening to many women on here.

There's so many horrible symptoms that I'm either experiencing or that I hear are yet to come or happen to other women and just keep hearing "that's normal". Why is it normal though?? I feel like it's another area of women's health that's completely under researched and where we've collectively decided it's just okay for women to be so uncomfortable or distressed for ages just because that's just part of pregnancy! And we're still expected to go to work or function on a basic level.

Rant over 😥

That sounds horrendous especially during your last couple of weeks! I normally absolutely love really hot weather, saunas etc but have found from early on I was suddenly feeling the heat massively and getting dizzy/lightheaded. I can't imagine it in the third trimester and a heatwave, you poor thing!

I think because you've got sort of central heating inside when pregnant any extreme heat outside just feels worse than it normally would. It was the humidity that was the killer, feeling like I couldn't breathe as there was just no air. Would not recommend late pregnancy in a heatwave 😅

Oh it’s so shit. But all worth it in the end. But so shit at the time.

I used to reckon it was Gods way of making years of sleepless nights seem acceptable! Better out than in, pregnancy is so uncomfortable. I haven’t been pregnant for 24 years but I remember the back pain like it was yesterday. I didn’t even have bad pregnancies, wasn’t really sick, but just increasingly uncomfortable for 9 months at a time. Watching TV on my hands and knees because I couldn’t sit, swollen feet, exhaustion but still working because “ having a baby isn’t an illness you know”. No one tells you how exhausting growing a baby is, and what a challenge just “ getting on with it” and being expected by society to do everything a non/ pregnant woman would do.

Whenever I read these posts it always brings it back to me (you see you're not alone, there have been many suffering the same).

I too felt like I had a terrible illness (made worse by the fact I realised how incredibly lucky I was to be carrying). I thought my stomach would actually spilt open, I felt heavy so when I walked it was like walking through treacle (while other pregnant women seemed to glide like swans). I truly hated being pregnant, it filled me with fear. I also got diagnosed with oc so had to have weekly blood tests followed by an induction. Whenever I tried to express my feelings people looked at me as though I'd lost my mind (except my lovely sister, she got it).

But, as soon as I gave birth, the relief! I honestly felt like I'd won the lottery. I slept better with a new born needing feeding every two hours than I had while pregnant so to echo everyone else, hang in there, one day at a time, it will be worth it and you'll get your belly back soon (by that I mean, no more being kicked and scratched and you can lie on your belly again if you wish) good luck, I feel you!

Part of my head tried to convince me that pregnancy wasn't that bad and I could totally have another child. The other part of my head gave it a stern talking to to remind it that pregnancy is NOT fun, we have the 2 DC we were hoping for and I was relieved when DC2 was born because I never have to do pregnancy again! (That first part of my head is protesting as I write this...)

So much sympathy to all you pregnant women..I hated every moment of my two pregnancies. And both ingrate interlopers were overdue, just to put the boot that I was sure they were kicking me in the fanny with in. I hope you have safe and easy deliveries.

I'm with you OP. I hated being pregnant. I couldn't run, I felt like a fat lumbering blob. I couldn't find clothes that fit.

And I had an easy pregnancy, no nausea, no pain. It just didn't suit me.

So I was one&done, then back to running and swimming & (relatively) normal life. 🙂

All of my pregnancies were bad, especially the last one. Endless morning sickness and reflux and pain, months of painful Braxton hicks contraions. Really painful movements, felt like baby was trying to dig their way out through my abdomin. Had my 3rd at 38 weeks, 5 days because I couldn't mentally take anymore. I would have loved another but there is no way in hell I'll ever be pregnant again.

Will echo what everyone else has said but also - my second pregnancy was worse than my first. Didn’t have PGP first time round and the bloody exhaustion of parenting a toddler whilst being pregnant. I also feel so massive this time around, and so slow and lumbering. Definitely definitely done after this!

My first pregnancy was during Covid and I really hated being pregnant, I didn't have a good time, I was hospitalised 3 times and couldn't have visitors, family would have to drop clothes and other items at the door of the ward.
My husband and I got 'stuck' in different countries and he missed the last 5 months of pregnancy and the birth.
I waited for 'the glow' but it never came.

Now 7 weeks with my second and so far it hasn't been too bad. Praying for a different pregnancy experience this time round! All I hear from people is how wonderful pregnancy is....my mum 'I had 4 and I loved every minute of being pregnant'. OK mum.

I think these people who say how amazing it was are lying or bought into their own hype . It definitely wasn't this magical wonderful thing for me. The only part I really enjoyed was feeling her kick and even then i was neurotic about it as she wasn't a big kicker and I was terrified I'd lose her. I spent most of my pregnancy living on my nerves. I. Was pretty sick the first 11 weeks and ended up with GD and preeclampsia . But the end result and that little tiny beautiful human you get at the end that's the amazing part .

Yep. It's why I only had one child.

I don’t have health anxiety and think pregnancy is diabolical. GP’s are completely unsympathetic and I believe it’s the only time Drs will leave you vomiting every day for months on end with no intervention. When I say to people in my life how rubbish it is they all agree, I’ve never heard any of them moan about their own pregnancy publicly until I have initiated the conversation, I think it’s the minority who have the Mother Earth experience lol. In another note though, I have been having acupuncture with a women’s health specialist since around 17 weeks and it’s helped with symptoms of nausea, vomiting and headaches massively (I have been on meds for chronic headaches for a number of years which I had to stop when I got pregnant). Good luck with the rest of it!

I also really hate being pregnant. Currently 26w with number 2 and the only thing getting me through is knowing it will be the last (and that I have GD so know I won't be going overdue!)

With my daughter my favourite trimester was the third as it was more socially acceptable to be hating or being fed up with pregnancy!

Ugh my pregnancies ruined two Christmases - my favourite meal of the year and just felt nauseous. I never got sick but low level nausea practically throughout and the heartburn! Nope I never 'bloomed' and was happy they came a little early.
A friend had a good first pregnancy but her other two she was sick every day. She had a demanding job at the time and she told me at every meeting she'd just tell herself over and over 'don't throw up don't throw up'. She ended up in hospital twice for dehydration. How she went for a third child after that I don't know. She was compensated by relatively easy births though.

So I’m 15 weeks with debilitating round ligament pain. Been to A&E, EPU and spoken to my GP. The GP as others have stated treated me like I didn’t matter. Thankfully both A&E and EPU were amazing and honest. There is nothing I can do about it and will probably suffer with pelvic girdle pain on top. This is the first pregnancy that I have made it this far and we are so excited and happy but I hate how much it hurts.

The bit that really gets my goat are all my friends and family that have perfect pregnancies. So feeling like something is wrong with me or baby and just being worried all the damn time.

Thank you all for sharing your stories. I feel less like an attention seeking pregnant person. Just joined and I appreciate you all.