While having low iron was one of my more serious issues during pregnancy, it was definitely not the only one. Hormones from pregnancy commonly bring women a whole slew of some unfortunate and uncomfortable issues. Some definitely less comfortable than others.
With Mark, aside from iron issues, I dealt with severe nausea and vomiting. Not to the point that I was diagnosed with hyperemesis, but it wasn’t great. Not the best situation, but I say this so nonchalantly because it turned into one of the least of my issues amongst my three pregnancies. I have definitely fried bigger fish than the constant nausea that accompanied my pregnancies with both of my boys.
See, like a lot of things about pregnancy and childbirth, no one informed me that pregnancy hormones commonly cause yeast infections despite proper hygiene and a healthy lifestyle. They also forgot to tell me about the unfortunate consequence of not peeing enough, UTI’s. Which seems like a no brainer, but like, when you feel like you have to pee every 2 seconds you don’t always go the second nature calls. At least not me, but I’m not always the brightest light bulb.
Prior to my pregnancy with Rose I hadn’t ever had a yeast infection and had only had one UTI in my entire life. I never realized how blessed I was to not have encountered these very unfavorable circumstances. I quickly realized, while talking to other moms in Facebook groups, that these were really common issues for a lot of women. Even more prevalent amongst pregnant women.
When I got pregnant with Rose, on top of anemia, I got surprised with a fun (*eyeroll*) new adventure. Shortly into my second trimester I got my first ever yeast infection. Yikes! If you’ve ever had a yeast infection you can imagine how unhappy I was to be heavily pregnant and dealing with this for the first time. And for those of you who have been ailed with this your whole life, bless you because it really sucks. Let me tell you, I have never been more uncomfortable in my life than during the first 3 days of that infection. And I sat there trying to figure out how this even happened. I wear full coverage underwear, I wear loose fitting clothing, I have good hygiene, I don’t use any of the Summer’s Eve crap that messes up your PH, and I use detergent for sensitive skin. I was like DaVinci over here trying to crack the code. (I’ve never read that book so don’t get mad at me.) Then my doctor informed me that it’s not abnormal during pregnancy because of all the hormonal changes.
I got past my first yeast infection and carried on with my pregnancy like a happy little clam. (Pun not intended.) Much to my disgust and dismay, I was welcomed with another yeast infection about a month later. Yay, lucky me. Again, wracking my brain trying to figure it out, only to remind myself it’s normal. I can not express to you how frustrating this was to deal with this in an otherwise pretty easy breezy pregnancy. Again, bless the women who deal with this their whole lives because I can not. I am a little sissy when it comes to that.
Fast forward, Rose is born and not another yeast infection to speak of. To this day not another one, thankfully. But, lucky me, pregnant with Joseph I got greeted by another unwelcome visitor. Throughout my pregnancy with Joseph I got 3, yes you read that right, 3, UTI’s. The crappy thing about UTI’s is that the more you get, the more you get. This one’s probably, definitely, absolutely my own fault though.
See I have a tiny bladder normally. I go pee every like 30 minutes even not pregnant, ask Joe. With that said, you can imagine how often I pee with a baby bouncing on my bladder like a trampoline. Because of this, I habitually hold it a lot. Terrible idea, terrible habit, but it gets extremely annoying to have to pee again before you even stand fully up from the toilet. So anyway, I brought it upon myself, but it’s unpleasant all the same. I spent several Sundays of my pregnancy at urgent care for antibiotics because it always happens when the doctor isn’t open right? The only good thing is that I’m very in tune with what’s normal with my body so I always caught it before it even escalated past just trace amounts. Because of this, my symptoms never got too terrible so I was able to get rid of the symptoms completely with the antibiotics before it escalated at all.
The moral of the story is, pregnancy brings some unwelcome ailments. Nausea, yeast infections, and UTI’s just to name a few. So don’t hold your pee no matter how annoying it is, and for the love of God don’t use those products that screw with your PH. Pregnancy is hard enough without adding in infections if you can do anything to prevent it. Keep those clams happy. I’m sorry that was a terrible attempt at a joke. Ok, I’m done. May the odds with on your side.
