“I didn’t immediately bond with my baby.
For the time I had to stay in the hospital following labor, I was completely terrified of her.
So I recently asked theBuzzFeed Communityto tell me aboutthe childbirth-related experiencesthat surprised them.
I was thrilled to see that they were so honest in their responses.
So here are the pregnancy-related truths we should all be discussing more.
Labor itself went smoothly.
For the time I had to stay in the hospital following labor, I was completely terrified of her.
All three of my pregnancies were so hard.
I was literally waking up to puke, and I experienced this nausea all day, every day.
I was so weak.
People told me to consume ginger and crackers as if that would cure it.
Because I was throwing up nearly every hour.”
Skadi9
“I had hyperemesis gravidarum and was sick every single day despite being on three different anti-nausea medications.
I knew ‘morning sickness’ existed, but I didn’t realize it could be so debilitating.
I had to stop working five months before I delivered because I couldn’t function.”
brandy188
3.
“I never expected what an emotional roller coaster I would feel in the aftermath of childbirth.
One day I’d feel so happy, and the next Id be a crying mess.
It was awful.”
“Gum bleeding and nose bleeds are actually quite common during pregnancy.
My gums started aggressively bleeding, and I thought I was having a blood clotting issue.
Turns out, this isn’t abnormal.”
Bella
5.
“I got very bad varicose veins.
They basically popped up overnight all over my lower left leg.
My doctor told me that varicose veins are common and should go away on their own after labor.
“I thought an epidural would make labor easy breezy.
Turns out, that didnothappen.
Ive never been so exhausted in my life.”
I had to have an emergency C-section due to a bacterial infection.
During that time, my baby passedmeconiumin the womb, which resulted in the bacterial infection.
I endured two weeks of start-and-stop labor symptoms.
It’s been 16 days since my surgery, and I still cry most days from the trauma.”
shanac463f931e7
8.
“After labor, your periods may get heavier.
Much heavier, actually.
I was warned about this, but I assumed it wouldnt happen to me because I had a C-section.
Turns out, its all based on hormones and not the bang out of labor you have.”
“I got horrible cystic acne.
My entire face felt like one big pimple.
And it was incredibly painful.
It lasted for about nine years after I gave birth.”
jeanetteb766
10.
“I went through eight years of unexplained infertility before finally getting pregnant.
“I didn’t anticipate how, after having a child, many new fears would be unlocked.
These fears of my kid being kidnapped or dying are the most terrifying and nauseating ones.”
Kkiley91
12.
“I didn’t realize how badly sex would hurt after a C-section.
“The food aversions!
Even the smell of peanut butter would make me throw up.
And it was delicious!”
anonymousotter
14.
“Your body will change, maybe permanently.
You may not ‘bounce back’ to your pre-baby body, but remember your body made another human.
You are amazing and so strong!”
I was not mentally prepared for just how time-consuming it would be, especially for the first month.
Hannah Loewentheil
16.
I’ve never felt so trapped in my life.
The anxiety was so bad that I couldn’t sleep, even though I was exhausted.
On a hopeful note, I want to tell everyone it does get easier.
You slowly get pieces of your life back over time.”
“I developed aPUPPP rash, which stands for ‘pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy.’
Its a rash that develops in your stretch marks.
I had it on my legs and stomach, and nothing could stop the itch.
I tried every topical cream and ointment you could think of.
jah066
18.
“People always talk about how horrific labor is, and I was terrified.
It turns out my labor was way easier than I had imagined it would be.
I had expected to get all of the pain meds, but I ended up not taking any.
People certainly have horror stories when it comes to labor, and these stories are terrifying for pregnant women.
I wish more people would talk about the good experiences.”
jklangdon7
20.
I now wear glasses because of this.
The same thing happened to my mom and a friend of mine.
Once you start talking about it, you realize how common it is.
I had never heard of pregnancy vision loss before it happened to me.”
I was giving myself 10-plus shots a day and experiencing extreme menopause symptoms for six months.
A
22.
“I was surprised that I didnt like being pregnant.
I wanted to have a baby, and I thought being pregnant would be an amazing womanly experience.
Instead, I had nausea and weird pains.
I felt emotionally uncomfortable with the idea of someone else in my body.
That was a disappointment.”
“Both your body temperature and blood pressure take time to regulate after giving birth.
It was like having the flu with a high fever; it took about a week to even out.
For a while, I also got extremely dizzy in the shower.
This ended once my blood pressure stopped spiking and falling a few weeks after I had the baby.
lawyerlady
24.
“Postpartum hair loss!
It usually starts about three months after giving birth, so its often unexpected and overlooked.
My hair loss occurred right at my hairline.
It took a few years before my baby bangs grew out!”
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
