iVillage editor Alana House confesses …
Remember the '80s song, 99 Luftballons? That was the theme song for my pregnancy. Except the balloons were purple. And they were in my pants.
I have never written these words until now. In fact, I will need to take several deep breaths before I do … OK, I’m ready … no, I’m not …
Ah, bugger it, I’m just going to type them and be done with it.
Vulval varicose veins.
Ever heard of them? I hadn’t until I was six months pregnant.
I'd complained to my obstetrician about terrible pains DOWN THERE when I got up in the morning. It felt like my nethers were going to explode whenever I got up from a sitting or lying position.
Presumably all vaginal examinations had ceased by that stage. The obstetrician simply listened to my symptoms and gave his verdict: symphysis pubis disfunction. Or was it diastasis symphysis pubis?
I can’t quite remember.
This is how Baby Center describes the pubis stuff: “The two halves of your pelvis are connected at the front by a stiff joint called the symphysis pubis. This joint is strengthened by a dense network of tough, flexible tissues, called ligaments. To help your baby pass through your pelvis as easily as possible, your body produces a hormone called relaxin, which softens the ligaments.
“As a result, these joints move more during and just after pregnancy, causing inflammation and pain, known as symphysis pubis dysfunction or SPD.