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

Nobody told me that as soon as you announced your pregnancy you change from an intelligent professional to an incubator whose only job is to get the baby out safely. Your mental and physical health are no longer important. Drs and MW talk at and over you. Your body becomes their property. As soon as the baby is born, the same Drs and MW can't wait to turf you out of hospital. Job done.

It was never properly explained that the cut often used on the uterus for a breech Cesarean would mean I would have to have a Cesarean for any future children. Recovery was also prolonged.

That you will get every single cough and cold going. So if pregnancy leg cramps, needing the loo or general insomnia isn't keeping you awake, the incessant coughing will...

Piles. No one warned me about them and how big they could get. And that they'd never completely go away again 😐

That my food intolerances would be 100 times worse during pregnancy and breastfeeding, I can usually tolerate a little bit of milk in baking for example but while pregnant I couldn't take it at all without sneezing, nose bleeds really bad exema! Hormones do weird things to your body.

I think more info about your pelvic floor after a c- section too would be good, I find that my core in general is quite weak and that has led to problems with sciatica and back pain.

My list could go on FOREVER!!!
I had my DD at 19 & 12 year later DS at age 30. Now i was told that being older the 2nd time round that my body would cope differently & the things i took for granted (body &health wise) the first time i wish was more commonly know that i would not have the gift of the second time. If i knew thenn what i know (&see/feel now) then i probably would have planned to have both kids around the same time at a point in my life half way between births.....now i would NEVER CHANGE MY KIDS FOR THE WORLD but if i could have the patience & more mature motherly instinct that i have with my 2nd pregnancy/birth with the body & energy i had with my first then i would be one happy (almost perfect ;-) ) mummy! !!!

How long you bleed for post birth. I expected a few days. Not two to three weeks.

The sheer volume of discharge in te early stages of pregnancy. I was convinced something was wrong, after much googling and confirming on ante natal group it's something to do with the plug forming.

Painful Indigestion and heartburn, and permanent backache still 3 years later. 🙃

I had no clue about the agonizing leg cramps I would wake up with in the mornings or the Round Ligament Pains a lot of mornings when I tried to get out of bed - The RLP is so excruciating that it was hard to deal with until it passed.

For some reason I thought babies just arrived on their due dates or very close after - so it was a shock to end up being induced at 14 days overdue!

I didn't know that once your waters went that they just kept on going on and on until you had the baby!

I didn't know about stitches until I had to have them after my first baby.

I didn't know that gas and air can make you very giggly and silly and you can end up having strange random conversations with the MW about lady part haircuts and styles!

I didn't know that with my 2nd onwards that the afterpains would be so horrible that it would feel like I was back in the delivery room and I had to put my TENS machine back on for breastfeeding!

While bf I didn't realize that every so often I would experience a really odd slightly unpleasant tingingly sensation of "let down" while randomly doing the housework or something!

I also was unprepared for all the intrusive comments that once I started on the route to parenthood, from the size of my bump (too big, too small) and comments on my family, it's size, whether we would have more or not etc. etc.

No one warned me that I might not (aka did not!) go into labour. It was all "oh this is natural process, women have been doing it for 100's of years" etc etc, not so natural when it just doesn't happen is it! Also yes yes to the bleeding afterwards, expected a few days got about 5weeks. Joyous time that.

The awful cramps in my legs when pregnant especially at 3am. I did discover a cure though - stamping my foot down as hard as possible!

No one tells you how much like a beached whale you feel and look right at the end or how difficult it is to sleep at night or the weak pelvic floor muscles. But 4 children later it was worth it.

The hairloss! My hair has started to fall out!

With both my pregnancy I had SPD and this was so painful and I really did not enjoy being pregnant at all . It's funny that no matter how much pain and discomfort you go through as soon as you see your baby you forget all about it and just think how amazing your child is.
When you become a mum you suddenly realise that you have to put your children first and that you have to do all you can to protect them.
When you realise that one of your children has special needs the little things that bothered you before become less important, it makes you care less what others think and you know the most important thing is getting your child the help they need, as well as finding a way for your child to participate fully just as your other child does.

I had problems with my ears during pregnancy and felt like they needed to 'pop' quite often (often in the supermarket for some reason!). My midwife couldn't explain it.
During labour I didn't expect my contractions to be so painful in my back, so during my first pregnancy I didnt realise how far gone I was and was sent home from hospital when I was in active labour . Didn't make that mistake with my second!

Hair falling out for ages after the birth! I didn't realise how much thicker my hair had got but now it comes out in my hands every time I wash my hair.... And it still keeps on coming!

Piles, my feet getting bigger so I had to get rid of all my glam shoes, motion sickness that I still haven't lost ( I can't even go on the dancing teacups at the theme park now ! ) crying much more easily at the slightest thing but also not getting migraines any more !

We're so lucky now to have so much information available on every subject. Nevertheless I think there are the occassional horror stories surrounding childbirth that no caring person would share with an expectant mum. That kind of experience is best shared after the birth. It's right that things are kept positive because overall that's precisely what it is: the best thing ever!

I remember going for a walk after my baby was born and having a feeling like their was something stuck up there - I couldn't figure it out to start with - then I realised it was the weakness in my muscles that I could actually feel my uterus wall sort of in a collapsed way as i was walking along. Second pregnancy I got varicous veins in my vagina - didn't realise that was even possible! It was horrible!

I got really odd, dark patches on both of my knees following DC's birth. I still have no idea what they were but took several years to fade.

No one warned me that my boobs might go really lumpy after the birth.

A close female relative had breast cancer so it really scared me to tears when I discovered (milk) lumps in my boobs.

I also didn't know that my boobs might leak milk in pregnancy.

Nobody told me how difficult I would find the sensation of needing to pee for 4 weeks before delivery.
Then, the horrors of the post caesarean apron. My wound was so badly sewn it was like a wonky rope from day 3 then my apron of fat that just developed and has just stayed there.
Nobody also told me how overwhelming the responsibility of having a new helpless person look to you for their every need to be met or how you have enough love for that little person you want to do it, even if you're knackered and it hurts.

I wish someone had told me about leaks etc after giving birth. It really rattled me and I think played a part in making my PND worse. If I had known it was common I would have relaxed about it a little more.

Restless legs. Worst. Thing. Ever.

I was coming to say restless leg syndrome too. I didn't even know it was a "thing" never mind a pregnancy thing. Genuinely thought I was going crazy!