What pregnant women won't tell you ever!

[Inertia]

I didn't take any offence Erica. The reason it is so funny is because it is so true.

Personally I don't think you can scare a person off having a baby any more than you can scare them off getting a tattoo or a naval piercing. Childbirth is far worse than pregnancy and everyone knows that hurts. If they are scared off by a kick to the cervix or the idea that their favourite dinner will have their head din a toilet bowl for an hour later then they were never serious about it in the first place.

I don't think anyone should be ashamed about saying how hard it was. Seriously, how many on their first baby could say that their partner did not fully comprehend just how tired you were, or how badly your back hurt? They had it in their heads that somehow you can be 7 months pregnant and clean the whole house, wash, hang, fold and put away all the dirty washing they left laying on the bedroom floor and bathroom, manicure the lawn and have dinner waiting on the table for them when they get home after a day at work yourself without so much as batting an eyelid? Even worse, you should be happy to do it because they "let you" have their baby.

We talk about how childbirth is not magical, and how newborns are not easy. I don't see there being any drama about talking about how pregnancy can be a drag.

[Lulliloo]

i thought this article was great. im not preg nor have i had a baby, but i am ttc and it hasn't scared me off. we need to talk about all these things so that we are not surprised when/if they happen. i didn't know about the cervix kicking thing, but now if it happens i won't think my baby is about to fall out.

[Talia*L]

Seriously, how many on their first baby could say that their partner did not fully comprehend just how tired you were, or how badly your back hurt? They had it in their heads that somehow you can be 7 months pregnant and clean the whole house, wash, hang, fold and put away all the dirty washing they left laying on the bedroom floor and bathroom, manicure the lawn and have dinner waiting on the table for them when they get home after a day at work yourself without so much as batting an eyelid? Even worse, you should be happy to do it because they "let you" have their baby.

Seriously?!

[Inertia]

Seriously?!

Sadly, men like that do exist. The scary part is quite a lot really. I know those wouldn't care either way if they had half an idea of what it was like during pregnancy, but you would at least have generally known facts to back you up.

My XH used to think I was "over exaggerating" my morning sickness. Granted, HG is over exaggerated MS, but apparently there is no way MS could stop me doing stuff during the day.

Ok, I am gonna stop talking about that now. Still irks me lots. lol

[e_p]

Seriously?!

my FIL was one of those men...my MIL birthed 10 children. At one point, she had 2 kids in nappies and pregnant with the next...and he would get home from work, say he was going down the street to get milk...and would come home 3 hours later. She was making school lunches and getting 5 kids off to school (with a little help from the oldest daughters - boys weren't expected to help), breastfeeding, cooking dinners/doing laundry/picking up after 9 people....and he never lifted a finger, and insisted on telling everyone what a 'gift' it was to have a big family. My MIL was an -incredible- woman...sadly she passed away 2 years ago...from cancer that may have been caught earlier if she was able to get herself to a doctor when she first noticed symptoms. Sadly she didn't get to a doctor until she had a brain tumor and was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery. Off topic I know - sorry guys! Just got carried away for a bit there thinking about men who are sometimes crappy support people to their partners.

I thought parts of the article were funny...but agree with LZ to an extent too....I get a bit sick of the articles out there that I really think cross the line into scaremongering...and this article is definitely on its way (judging by the comments posted in response to it).

[HotI]

I thought parts of the article were funny...but agree with LZ to an extent too....I get a bit sick of the articles out there that I really think cross the line into scaremongering...and this article is definitely on its way (judging by the comments posted in response to it).

Why is it scaremongering if it is telling truths about how some women experience pregnancy?

There is so much secrecy around pregnancy (women's business), and saying you are doing it tough is hard. This article was good because it lets you laugh about the not so good stuff in pregnancy.

Maybe those who don't think its funny, is because they don't get it, cos they haven't experienced the bad stuff.

[Persephone1]

I thought the article was good. Partly tongue-in-cheek, but at the same time stating it the way it is for some women. And it's true, a lot of the experiences and symptoms of pregnancy are not discussed - like cervical kicks for example. Why did no one tell me that my baby would kick me THERE?

But I think this is just another example of what we could refer to as "secret women's business" which doesn't get talked about enough. For example, I've had hormonal issues which have caused me to have irregular periods. It's a private matter, it's not like I want to discuss it in public - but it turns out that one of my friends has had similar issues, and had we both been more able to discuss it with each other, we might have been able to support each other and share the wisdom we have as women.

I think one of the reasons why pregnancy, childbirth and women's health is so pathologised (sp?) and controlled by the medical profession is that we don't share our wisdom with each other and empower each other to control our own health care (obviously BB is an exception to that). Whilst this article might seem like it's scaremongering, surely that's better than not talking about it? Who else is going to share this information with us? Once upon a time our ancestors sat around and talked women's business without any fear - that doesn't happen any more, but the internet, and articles like this, are the 21st century way of doing that.

Okay, got to go and watch Big Love now.

[Inertia]

I thought parts of the article were funny...but agree with LZ to an extent too....I get a bit sick of the articles out there that I really think cross the line into scaremongering...and this article is definitely on its way (judging by the comments posted in response to it).

I still don't see how cervix kicks and back aches can scare a person off having a baby more than labour would. Labour stories would be scaremongering, but they are more than welcome to be discussed - even the really really bad ones.

I could blog, post, talk for days about my PPH - thats not a problem. I screamed like a banshee all the way through Phoebes labour - it was that unforgivingly painful.

"Everyones experience is different"

But If I mentioned that Phoebe made pregnancy unbearbly uncomfortable because she kicked me in the cervix seven times a day, and when she flipped she would kick me in the ribs and force her head into my cervix daily . That I had HG all 6 times and spent all day every day within 5m of a bathroom. Neither of which rate anywhere near as bad as the previous two....

No.. I just don't buy that its scaremongering. Its just my experiences.