Nobody Told Me THAT!

So when you decide to get pregnant, there are things you know to expect. Morning sickness, cravings and stretch marks are symptoms you’ve heard about your entire life. Not that you are excited about experiencing them, but at least you know they might be coming.  Over the years, I’ve noticed several other ‘less popular’ symptoms that when told they are normal and common, patients almost always reply with indignation that no one ever warned them about those symptoms.

Fatigue
So you hear women say they feel tired during pregnancy, but most women assume that’s when the baby is huge and they can barely walk in their last trimester. When the fatigue can truly be overwhelming though, is during the first trimester when the baby is only the size of a grain of rice. The combination of skyrocketing hormone levels and revved up metabolism can lead to a level of fatigue that feels abnormal. I remember getting home from work and barely leaving the couch, sleeping for 10 hours and still feeling like I needed a nap when I was about 7 weeks pregnant with Ryan. The fatigue was so intense, that when I finally slept it was a comatose state. There is hope, energy levels usually return to normal in the second trimester around 13 weeks.

Vaginal discharge
A patient said to me earlier this week, “Dr. Rupe, one thing I was really looking forward to about being pregnant was NOT having a period, but with all this vaginal discharge I still have to wear a pad everyday!” Your cervix, the bottom part of your uterus, sits at the top of the vagina. Its glands produce your vaginal discharge, which will become more copious and thick during pregnancy due to increased blood flow to the organ as well as elevated levels of the hormone progesterone. Additionally, as the baby grows he will often kick your bladder which can lead to urine leakage.

This extra moist environment, in combination with a lowered immune system in pregnancy, can lead to yeast and bacterial infection.  White, clear, or light yellow is normal. A change in color, itching, pain, and strong odor could signal an infection and should probably prompt a call to your doctor. If it doesn’t have any of the above symptoms it’s likely just increased discharge from your cervix.  Yeah.  It’s a little gross.

Hand Numbness
As pregnancy advances, a lot of women will get a temporary carpel tunnel of pregnancy. There is increased fluid in your tendon sheaths, which can cause pressure on the nerves that travel to your hands. This combined with the fact that most people flex their wrists while they sleep, can cause women to awaken with severe pain and numbness in their hands. The symptoms often improve throughout the day. Wearing wrist splints at night can help. If the numbness persists throughout the day or you also have weakness, you should discuss the symptoms with your doctor.

Sneaky Second Babies
Some women absolutely LOVE being pregnant. I mean LOVE it. They feel great, they glow, they soar through labor like it was a another item to check off their to-do list for the day.  A year later they show up ready to do it again.  At their 8 week visit with baby number two, they have a  completely different take on the situation. This time they are puking, tired, crampy and miserable. “But I felt SO GREAT last time,” they exclaim incredulously. I always tell women no two pregnancies are alike… but they just don’t believe me until they experience it for themselves.

Not always, but as general rule, women seem to be more uncomfortable with their second pregnancies. They feel the baby drop early, have more contractions and more fatigue. Is this because they are already chasing a toddler? Maybe. Additionally,  the pelvic and abdominal muscles were previously stretched to the max, and haven’t had a chance of full recovery. All this can combine to increase discomfort all around.

Hopefully, your pregnancy will not be plagued by these common symptoms, but if so you can’t say I didn’t warn you.

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