54 Moms Open Up About The Brutal Things Their Bodies Endured To Give Birth

No one told me that once your waters break, they just… keep going.

Injectable blood thinners for 9 months plus 6 weeks after. Cervical incompetence so had to be stitched together and bedrest for 4.5 months. Pre-eclampsia. Crash c-section. These all happened in various pregnancies.

Multiple pregnancy loss. I’ve been pregnant 10 times with 3 living children.

They are worth it though!

My feet changed shape. None of my old shoes fit properly afterwards.

After - the huge clumps of what looks like liver that falls out for a good week

It also messed up my teeth pretty bad. I’m still struggling with that and I’m terrified of dentists so it’s just an ongoing issue

Edit: I had no idea the teeth thing happened to soooo many women!! It’s just another of those things they don’t tell you or don’t account for hey? I wish someone had told me at the time because I spent so long being terrified and ashamed. I’ll be brave and try and make an appointment with a dentist when we get back off holiday.

During: skin tags


After: more skin tags .

I had a placental abruption, uterine hemorrhage, and lost almost 1/3 of my body's blood.

One thing I didn’t know is afterwards your internal organs (bladder, uterus) can kinda fall downwards and it’s unpleasant….

Sweating like a stinky old goat to get rid of all the extra fluid in your body after giving birth.

Parts of my feet and legs are still totally numb almost 4 months postpartum. It started in my hands during pregnancy and eventually hit everything below my knees.

Did you know that pregnancy can trigger your body to develop allergies? I didn't know that either. I am now allergic to cats and I have an oral allergy to kiwi fruit, raw bell peppers, raw green beans, cashews, and walnuts. I had no allergies prior to my second pregnancy.

My ligaments got really loose around my hips, I got general hip area pain from about 22 weeks and was on crutches from 32 weeks. If I laid on my side it felt like my hip was popping out the joint. .

First pregnancy was golden. Second one wrecked me. Ended up dilated to 4cm for over a month. Hemorrhages after birth. Because of that second pregnancy I developed a severe bladder and uterine prolapse at 28 and had to have a repair and hysterectomy at 29. Also developed cyclical vomiting of sorts and vomit about 1-2x/month for no good reason. Probably will have a rectal prolapse with how things are going but on the bright side by that time if will likely be time for my bladder repair revision so I can do them at the same time!

PUPPP (Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy)
Most seen in 1st pregnancies and in the 3rd trimester. I had the rash all over my torso, arms, and legs. The itching was so intense I had to sleep with cotton gloves on to stop from tearing open my skin when asleep (when I could actually fall asleep). Cold baths, oatmeal baths, topical creams, antihistamine... nothing worked except delivering. It went away within a week of delivering, and I still have scars on my arms from it (the baby is now a senior in high school).

Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex (D-MER). I had never heard of it before experiencing it. Basically, every time you breastfeed or pump, your dopamine plummets. This causes a sudden and severe depression. I compared it to what I imagine the Dementors in Harry Potter felt like. So, that feeling 7 times a day while pumping, combined with sleep deprivation and trying to navigate having an infant.

I stopped sleeping through the night at 8 months pregnant and I've never slept well since.

My son is 20...

Having 2 miscarriages at home then being terrified to be pregnant again.

24/7 sickness for over 30 weeks, gestational diabetes, induced labour, not pooing for over a week, a grazed vulva (you can tear up - I didn’t know that before I had kids!) that had me peeing in the shower for 2 weeks, mastitis…

Honestly, I could go on and on.

Do you know what happens if during c section they can’t get the baby out still?

They page orthopedics and open your pelvis like a book.

During: endless vomiting.
After: the most intense sadness I’ve ever felt.

Wouldn’t do it a second time, but so glad I made it through once. Because she’s also made me feel joy at life again.

Iron depletion. Take your iron levels including ferritin more seriously or it will cause a lot of damage later on. I refused iron infusions during both my pregnancies and post birth. That was so stupid of me.