It's NOT a normal part of pregnancy. I suffered from it from 28 weeks pregnant to six months after DD was born and still have issues now so I've done a fair bit of research. To answer your questions:

-will it effect my labor

Not really BUT you should do everything possible to avoid your legs being too widely separated during labour. I pushed for 2.5 hours flat on my back with my legs pulled up to my boobs which I think is why it took me so long to recover afterwards. A good tip is to measure how far you can comfortably separate your legs before labour with a piece of string and to take that piece of string with you to show the midwives. You should also talk to them beforehand and tell them your concerns so that they can manage your labour effectively.

-will the pain stop when the baby is born

I was told it would but in some cases it doesn't. Mine didn't - as I said before, I had chronic pain for six months afterwards.

-is there anything i can do to help with the pain

Ask for a referral to a physio who specialises in this and who sees a lot of pregnant women. I wasn't so good at going to the physio while I was pregnant because my carers kept saying it would go away magically after the birth. When it didn't, I had a few sessions of clinical pilates which helped A LOT.

The main things to do are to keep your hips and knees in alignment as much as possible so no separating your legs when you are getting in and out of bed, into the car etc. It also helps to keep your hips higher than your knees when you are sitting (so use cushions if you have to).

I found good resources to be a UK support group called The Pelvic Partnership and their Australian equivalent called The Pelvic Instability Association. So Google them for many more tips and information.

Good luck!


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