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

Pregnancy No 1 - Morning sickness that lasted from 4am - 7pm until I was 12 weeks pregnant.
A baby who didn't latch on properly and the pain of sore nipples, especially when it was time to feed again.

Pregnancy No 2 - piles - the embarrassment of having a doctor examine me and the thought of having to go to the toilet.

That breastfeeding does NOT come easily or naturally, it is bloody hard work, but when it finally works, it is worth all the agony. but don'y beat yourself up if you can't, I breastfed one and bottle fed the other, both were fine.

No one warned me about distended breasts when full of milk!!

I wish that instead of talking about 'little accidents' and 'leaks' in a diminutive, minimising way, that HCP, advice and companies had had the balls to tell it like it is - you might experience a pelvic prolapse, this is where your pelvic organs fall through your vaginal walls, causing pain and incontinence, damaging your health and wellbeing.

Continuing to deploy this coy language helps no one, what's needed is proper pelvic floor information and support from the NHS, not companies marketising a sometimes serious medical issue as yet another embarrassing 'downstairs' issue women need to spend money to fix...

The pelvic floor message was drummed into me, tbh, although I can't say I was particularly diligent at doing the exercises! Luckily I had three DCs and no ill effects in that area.

BUT no-one warned me about the heartburn! The last two months of each pregnancy had me glugging Gaviscon by the pint.

I knew childbirth would be painful and was psychologically geared up for that but I didn't realise how uncomfortable I would feel afterwards. I suffered from a 3rd degree tear had really struggled walking normally for days

I also thought I would never be able to control weeing again - it's like it would just spill out of me. It really concerned me and probably overshadowed what should have been joyous first days with my new baby. I thought I would never function properly again!!

Of course after speaking to others I realise this is quite common and sure enough over time my pelvic floor improved (with the help of A LOT of exercises!!!) and I'm back to normal now

If I'd have known about it pre childbirth I wouldn't have let it preoccupy my mind so much in those early days.

I had no idea that your feet could get bigger, what being induced actually meant, that you had to deliver the placenta with more contractions, bleeding after birth, and that so many people would use the phrase...every child is different...it's normal for some children!

Nobody told me how difficult was to be pregnant with lots of little problems: constipation, morning sickness, uncomfortable nights, indigestion, iron deficiency and lots more. After the birth nobody told me how difficult and painful breastfeeding can be.

I didn't know that I would be able to hear my perineum splitting as DC2 arrived. It was a loud pop, literally the sound of an old-fashioned popgun. The memory of that sound still makes me feel queasy.

When the fine hairs on your tummy stick up!

Heartburn awful and not ever feeling myself as tastebuds went mad

That I would do a pooh whilst pushing down!!!!! Sorry!

Nobody ever told me that in the hours and days immediately following childbirth, my tummy would resemble a huge lump of raw dough. I kind of naively imagined everything would just shrink right back in to place, and wasn't at all prepared for this horror!!!

Nobody warned me that even years after the birth you could get a sensation in your tummy that feels exactly like a baby kicking...first time it happened to me I thought I must be pregnant again but apparently this is normal.

No one warned me about piles and how much aching breasts would hurt! Oh my word they were terrible!

The amount you can bleed after giving birth. It was totally unexpected with my first child,it scared me more than giving birth. For a while after giving birth I kept losing blood clots. I wish I had known beforehand as I may not of been so worried.

You feel so ugly and tired, even though people keep telling you well you look.

I had no idea my stomach muscles could/would separate, infact I had no idea until after my second pregnancy (first was twin) when the midwife said they obviously had been separated since the first pregnancy. Eh, no-one told me!

The after bleed you get that it lasts a lot longer than normal in my case it was 6 months!

Varicose veins and flatulence

Things I never got warned about were the loss of appetite, the tiredness (yes I got told I knew I would feel tired but not as bad as I felt), the emotional side and what it did to your head but on the plus note I actually had a good pregnancy with not much symptoms and I wish someone had told me that even if the labour is a long one, when you've had your little one it doesn't seem as long anymore and its just more or less of a blur, they always tell you the scary side of labour and not the positive side. Would definitely do it again.

This thread is now closed, the winner of the prize draw is izbiz88 - congratulations!