Tell INNOVO™ what no one warned you about pregnancy & childbirth. Win £300 Voucher. NOW CLOSED

[RebeccaEMumsnet]

In order to celebrate the launch of their alternative solution to pelvic floor strengthening – Innovotherapy – INNOVO™ want to hear the effects of pregnancy on your body that took you by surprise as nobody warned you about them.

Here’s what INNOVO™ have to say: '"Motherhood can be such a blessing and change your life in ways you never imagined, however it is filled with many shocks and surprises. Some good and some not so welcome, such as a those ‘little accidents’ that we all try and hide.
Unfortunately a weak pelvic floor and the resulting incontinence is often part and parcel of pregnancy however it doesn’t have to stay that way.
Innovotherapy is a non-invasive way to restore your pelvic floor, treating the primary cause of urinary leaks rather than just masking the symptoms. Using a hand held controller that is attached to a two part garment, Innovotherapy sends targeted impulses via conductive pads (attached to your upper thigh and buttocks) to safely and effectively activate the muscles of the pelvic floor. It is a proven technology which has been designed to optimally strengthen your pelvic floor allowing you to return to return the more important things in life, such as your little ones.”

You can read more about the product and advice on pelvic floor strengthening here.

So, what unexpected effects did pregnancy and giving birth have on your body? Did anyone tell you to expect urinary leaks after having a baby? Did you consider the importance of toning your pelvic floor? Were you surprised by any other physical effects that nobody warned you about?

INNOVO™ would also love to know about any unexpected positive effects of pregnancy and giving birth. Does parenthood make you feel like you can take on the world? Do you now feel like you are more focused on what matters most?

Whatever the unexpected effects of pregnancy and childbirth were for you, post your story below. Everyone who adds a comment will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

That I would shit on the bed during labour.
That my vagina would literally look like crumpled lettuce after giving birth and for the long future.
That I would develop a snail trail most men would be envious of.
And as for the afterbirth pains...jiminy cricket!

The tiredness. Oh my gosh, the tiredness. And the inability to concentrate or remember things. Also the very sensitive sense of smell: I could locate my hidden cat by scent alone.

That pregnancy could cause such vivid dreams (well nightmares in my case) that I would wake up gasping for air after dreaming the most awful and bizarre scenarios. And that childbirth could cause such severe constipation that I actually thought they had stitched my arsehole closed whilst repairing my third degree tear. I never imagined that recovering from having a baby would involve having to attempt to 'manually evacuate' my own poo whilst crying my eyes out because I thought my ability to perform normal bodily functions was well and truly over

my kidneys decided pregnancy wasn't for them !

That it can actually be easy! Everyone is so hung up on telling everyone else how much pain relief they had, how many stitches they had, how long they were in labour for etc etc that sometimes even the ones who had an amazing experience over exaggerate their 'negatives' of the experience to join in!

I for one tell everyone it CAN be easy,

If I'd have known how long it takes to do a poo after a caesarian, and how much it hurts, I would not have touched any claggy hospital food and would have stuck to prunes and bananas. Doing a poo for the first time, one week later, hurt more than any of my contractions....I was like 'Call the midwife back!'

SPD/PGP, never heard of it before, but am now permanently disabled with it.

Didn't realise you could have depression whilst being pregnant and not just afterwards.

I mistakenly thought that if I'd had a terrible pregnancy then the birth would be easy. Not so.

Nobody could have prepared me for the overwhelming, instant love I felt for my babies.

After the trauma of pregnancy and childbirth I wasn't prepared for wanting another child.

Despite everything, I would do it all again. I never thought I would say that.

that people seem to think they have the right to start touching your bump at every opportunity and give you conflicting advice!

just how hard and tiring it would be.... even when not actually doing much

I wish someone had told me what the first symptoms of SPD were. I walked around for weeks feeling that i had been (Pardon my terminology!) 'kicked in the vag' thinking it was just one of those wierd pregnancy aches and it wasn't too bad and then it got so much worse!
I ended up on crutches and being indueced on my due date as I couldn't get to the toilet.
2nd pregnancy - felt the 'kick in the vag' pain and stuck on my hip strap - made it to due date with just that!

After my second, the after pains were extreme. I had no idea what they even were!

Baby laying on nerve near the end of pregnancy causing severe pain in my back going down my leg and not being able to walk

Loss of sense of smell!

Nobody told me how hard breastfeeding would be - the pain, difficulty latching, pain, pain and more pain!

no one told me about the stamina needed to push a baby out. i was expecting the pain of contractions and that it would smart when the baby came out but for me this was nothing in comparison to the bloody pushing. i have never been one for exercise. it was a shock i tell you

I'm not sure I knew I even had a pelvic floor before antenatal classes! I gave birth without knowing how to breastfeed or how long I'd bleed afterwards. Also, the importance of drinking plenty during labour. I ended up very dehydrated & was made to feel like my PPH was entirely my own fault by the midwife who was with me throughout my labour. She could maybe have mentioned it before, it's not like she was encouraging me to drink & I'd been refusing!

I knew to expect some bleeding post birth so bought a pack of maternity pads in preparation.
No one told me how long lochia could last - in my case 4 weeks - It was the main thing I requested visitors bring (I live in the sticks)

I knew giving birth could lead to urinary problems, but did not know that it could do the same for bowel movements.

I also did not know that if could affect my digestion: I never burped pre-dc, I just could not do it, not even when I felt ill or gassy. But with each pregnancy I became more and more burpy, and myyyy but I do some right rolling belches these days. But never on demand, and usually at unexpected and embarrassing moments.

Nobody warned me about many of the weird and wonderful symptoms you can get during pregnancy, all of which are deemed "normal"...ezcema breakouts (which disappeared the moment I gave birth!) horribly dry skin for the whole pregnancy, nose bleeds, insomnia, SPD - but also the farting! I went from being somebody who pretended never to fart to not being able to even think about holding it in - I had no choice but to let it all out no matter where I was!

No one warned me how much hair would fall out, how long it takes for your stomach to shrink and how painful just sitting could be after the baby was born.

Post birth contractions... Wtf Are those?! But perhaps the biggest was just how much blood you can lose during labour. I thought it was completely normal that your placenta detaches easily so when mine didn't and I was losing blood like water it petrified me.

On a lighter note, how much your boobs hurt if you go a long time in between feeds

that your physical changes are in no way compared to your psycological andthat the nesting phase does exist.

Piles that won't go away, stitches that split, taking for granted that I would be able to breast feed and producing about half a teaspoon of milk (in total), oh and suddenly growing moles all over my back (teenage sunburn come back to haunt me perhaps).

That projectile poo is a thing and poo will end up in places you would never imagine it to end up.

How strong a prem baby and a stay in nicu will make you

I thought I didn't have any stretch marks as couldn't see them when I looked down at bump. Towards end of pregnancy I looked in a mirror and found them all - under bump and under boobs. Bright purple ones like lightening strikes. I didn't realise they could be so dark!