The Woman, the Myths, the Pregnancy.

When I found out about my pregnancy I was already 5 weeks gone. Not that I knew at the time. Midwives kept asking about last periods and in the fog of the shock I couldn’t really remember. I had none of the usual ‘signs’ that I furiously read on the NHS website other than awaiting a period which it turns out, was never coming. I even dodged the morning sickness bullet. Don’t get me wrong for the next 7 weeks I had a constant anxious sickness in the pit of my stomach whilst I evaluated how un-baby-friendly my life was and how to remedy this in 6 months. (Goodbye one bedroom river view flat, Hello huge mortgage house for starters.) And whilst I fortunately dodged some of the more serious and tough complications in pregnancy I basically spent the next 6 months complaining about the lesser known side effects.

Acid reflux
When I got pregnant I had been on such a health kick, I had lost a stone and was even weighing out the rice before I ate it to work out the macros. (I can’t explain it; it was a weird time ok?) So I was delighted to have the BEST excuse to eat whatever I wanted. This was my time; it was what I’d trained to do. I’ve eaten an entire Victoria Sponge before so this was going to be no problem to me. However by week 13 my entire day became all about how many Rennie tablets I could shove into my face whilst sticking to the recommended daily amount. The reflux was horrific. I once drank a smoothie, trying to be healthy and got it so viciously I couldn’t eat for the rest of the day. Pregnancy was supposed to be my food heaven at a time where gin and I were on a sabbatical. Instead I became afraid to eat as it brought it on so badly. I tried all the remedies, drinking milk, cutting out tomatoes. Nothing helped. Basically my stomach had been shoved and squished about a foot higher than it should be and until I got that baby out of there it was a plight to deal with.

Thrush
I’ve lived a charmed life. I never had thrush until pregnancy. However the viciousness and frequency has more than made up for this. It all started with anti-biotics prescribed because of a UTI that I had no idea about. Then the thrush came. I had no idea about any of this but thrush is a side effect of taking them as they wipe out all your bacteria, both good and bad. Until you are furiously dashing around Reykjavik trying to find the Icelandic version of Canesten duo you really haven’t lived. Can’t use the pessary until you talk to your doctor, bloody cream doesn’t work on its own. After a week of hell, live yoghurt and ice packs I finally cracked, used the pessary and felt immediately better. However I got thrush a further 5 times over the next 6 months which drove me insane and probably cost me about £60. Fantastic. The midwife said ‘Ah yes, just one of those things in pregnancy’. I felt like this was the answer to basically any medical issue.

Glow
The elusive pregnancy glow. I got excited for this one. As a 25 year old who still has spot breakouts on the regs, I thought this was going to be my time to rock that natural look. No heavy duty Estee Lauder double wear foundation required, I’m going to use BB cream. The only glow I got was a nice sweat on during the June heatwave. And I needed twice the amount of foundation to cover the red sweaty mess that was my face. The glow is an absolute myth.
So that’s some of my pregnancy gripes. It feels quite cathartic to have written it down now. Maybe I can move on..but I will forever be haunted when I see Rennie’s or Canesten. What side effects did you have in pregnancy? I’d love to hear them and compare notes.
Love,
Rachel & Baby Eva