Not Everything is Bright and Rosy

I wish pregnancy came with a user manual. If they advertise for pregnancy it will come with a million small print.

In movies, particularly rom-coms, they don't really say how hard being pregnant is. None of my girlfriends who have become mothers years before me told me about the not-so-good side of pregnancy. Sure they told me giving birth is one of the most painful experience they have ever had to go through. Sure they told me that since having their baby, they became restricted and many have suffered sleep depravity. But not a single one told me of the "ugly" side of pregnancy. In many pregnancy books I've read they don't really elaborate on it either.

I think that women should know that pregnancy is not all bright and rosy. If you are one of the lucky ones you might not suffer from morning sickness but if you are like me, then you definitely deserve to know that you can get through it.
A few months ago I read an article on the local newspaper about this lady who had her pregnancy terminated at 12 weeks because she was just too ill to carry on. It was going to be her second child. Her health suffered so much that she had to have her second pregnancy terminated.
Fortunately I wasn't as bad as her but perhaps it was because I had someone who carried me through my first 14 weeks that turned out to be an absolute nightmare.

I never thought being pregnant could be so hard. But with my family (not many of them here in England) I was able to get through the horrible first trimester.

The "ugly" truth and how I got through them:

• Constipation - I read that this is common amongst many pregnant women. To combat it, I ate a lot of dried Prunes. Aside from it being rich in Vitamin A it really helped solve this problem. NB* Vitamin A sourced from animal products is potent to pregnant women if taken in high dosage and can cause birth defects, but VitA from fruits and vegetables are completely safe and is very good for pregnancy. (www.nhs.uk)
• Sinusitis - I had a big battle with clogged sinus but I find that eating citrus fruits made a huge difference to unclog my nasal passages. If you can be bothered with steaming your face then that works a great deal too. Pour warm water in a large basin and squeeze a lemon over the water, make sure it's not too hot. Stand directly over the steam and drape a small towel over your head for keeping the steam from escaping. This is actually great for clearing your pores but it is just as good for clearing your sinus.
• Bloating - Another unpleasant thing about pregnancy is bloating. I don't think this can be avoided especially for the first trimester I had really bad bloating. I found that not drinking with your meal helped a lot. I used to drink at least 2 pints of water with my meals but when I got pregnant that made me bloat so much that I had to try and avoid drinking AT ALL with my meal. What I did was drink AFTER my meal and drink loads of water throughout the day. Eating several small meals is better than having 1-2 large meals as well.
• Gas - I read that healthy foods can actually cause flatulence so I didn't bother with a food diary to determine the culprit of my unwanted and unpleasant gas problems in the first trimester. What I did is do Pilates because I found that it relieves you of gas pain. My husband bought me a DVD of antenatal pilates a week after I found out I was pregnant and I find it a great help to relieve me of gas pain and back pain as well.

• Back pain - is even worse in the second trimester and I believe it will get worse in the third. Pilates is your best bet. If you prefer yoga, that should work too. Or if you can't be bothered with either, just don't lay on your back. In fact I was told that I should try and sleep on my left side because that helps with circulation. On my 8th week of pregnancy, James got me a Mum E Pillow (google it!) which helped me sleep better at night.

PILATES is not only good to relieve back pain, it also strengthens the core muscles that will absolutely help through the demands of labour and delivery. My midwife suggested yoga but I chose Pilates since they are very similar. I find that Pilates is more a physical strengthening and Yoga more of a mental strengthening.
I'm sure I will encounter more things to deal with as I go along but if I got past my first 14 weeks I will get past anything. And I mean ANYTHING!

There may be a lot of unpleasant things about pregnancy but one thing is for sure: the pros override the cons. When I felt the first flutter of my baby inside me, I felt something so incredible! It really is something else. I can't wait for my son's father to feel him kick through my stomach. I can't wait to see the thrilled look on his face when that time comes. It is going to be a very special moment indeed.