The mistakes I made + a few tips.

Hello ladies,

I thought I would share with you a few of things I did wrong when I was pregnant and a few other things I did that helped me out greatly. My pregnancy was a smooth one but the aftercare was horrible and I felt really numb after the whole experience. I often think I wish I could go back in time and re-live my pregnancy and make my life a better one. So here are a few pointers.

1. DO take supplements/pre-natals. I really under-rated pregnancy and the toll it took on my body. I never realised the extent to which mother's mineral and iron resources are sapped when she is pregnant. My mother had advised me to take folic acid + iron but I did not as it made me a little nauseous. The result was that I was severely anaemic and my nurse was very angry as to why I had not been taking my supplements. I assumed that because I was putting on weight I was healthy but later realised it was completely the opposite. I might have gained fat but nutritionally I was deficient and very weak. So my tip here is to listen to doc/mother/mil when they advice about taking supplements.

2. DO invest in maternity clothing. The thing with maternity clothing is that they are your normal size but stretch at the tummy. They fit better and also gently keep reminding you if you are gaining too much weight on other parts of your body which is not very necessary. Anytime my clothes would feel tight around my belly I would buy a bigger size of clothing not realising that I was putting on weight everywhere. So the tip is to invest in a few decent maternity clothing items as they fit better and are worth it.

3. DO NOT quit a job because others want you to. Do what you want. I don't know why I left my job when I found out I was pregnant?? Maybe the shock? I still don't know why. I really wish I would have worked all the way till 9 months and then be able to claim for maternity. I made a stupid decision to stop working based on what I thought others were thinking. HOW stupid of me!!

4. DO walk a lot. This is one thing I did that I encourage other women to do as well. Unless you have a medical condition and have been advised not to, you can walk and do other forms of exercise. I walked everywhere when I was pregnant and my DH and I even walked to the hospital when I went into labour. It was painful as hell walking through contractions but I strongly believe it helps a lot with having a natural labour if you exercise all throughout pregnancy. So don't put your feet up just because you are pregnant. It's not an illness.

5. DO NOT eat for two. Lol. Please don't otherwise you will be like me struggling to lose weight 3 years later. All the good food in the world, I ate it when I was pregnant. My husband and I have a running joke that we almost became homeless and we could not pay the rent as I spent the money on food. Your body is not a waste bin. Too late for me to take this advice now but I can warn others can't I ??

6. DO NOT get an epidural. Okay so this is from personal experience so please don't take my exact word for it. A lot of women benefit from it but it was the worst mistake I made. Having an epidural meant being bed bound all throughout labour, which meant having a catheter. My bum was sore for sitting for 12 hours on a hospital bed. I did not the freedom to get up even after my baby was born as the catheter was left in. Till this date I have sudden numbness and tingling in my feet and my palms because of this epidural. This nerve damage is irreversible. Next time I'll stick to GAS and AIR.

7. DO speak up if you have to make a point- A doctor only knows so much and a mother's instinct is really strong. So if you feel like there is something wrong, either with you or the baby do speak up and make a fuss about it. I would rather be labelled as a noisemaker or troublesome than take any risks with my baby's health or mine. There was a junior doctor pricking the heel of my one day old DS to extract blood but was unable to after many attempts. I felt really sad for my LO, I kept him safe and comfortable for 9 months and at day one he was going through hell and wailing and passing out while the Junior doc tried unsuccesfully to get some blood. After 5 mins of watching this battery of my LO I shooed off the Jr.doctor and asked the nurse to get an experienced doctor who knows how to take a blood sample. Finally a senior doctor came and took the blood sample from my LO within 30 seconds. Just an example of how at time you need to speak up.

8. DO accept help- I was too proud to live with my mother when I was pregnant. And I was also too proud to have her help me during delivery/post-natal. Big mistake. Take all the help you can, from mother/sis/mil. I had DH to help but at the end of the day he is a man and cannot understand the pain of a third degree vaginal tear. I really wish I had my mother around after I gave birth to help out with the baby so if you are like me, swallow your pride and accept the help. You can return the favour later.

A few things that also helped me a lot after delivery were- Milk and turmeric after delivery helped a lot with feeling better. I used to have raw pureed spinach and a handful of prunes to help with post pregnancy constipation and blood loss (I hemorrhaged 940 mls of blood immediately after I delivered). Kegel exercises work wonders for incontinence, this is tried and tested. I was very incontinent after I gave birth and used to have a few accidents even when I sneezed but thanks to kegel exercises I don't have those experiences any more.

Ladies, I hope this helps any of you out who are pregnant. I was 19 when I delivered so maybe most of you already know these things but since I was so young and had zero knowledge about babies and pregnancy I got quite a lot of things wrong. I hope this writeup didn't come across as condescending and if it did I apologise, it was not meant to be!

If you also have some tips from personal experience for other ladies who are expecting please feel free to share! :thumbsup

Regards,
Annabunny

 

My Pleasure !!