It started at around week 15. I would feel pain in the front of my pubic bone which was especially bad at night. Rolling over bed was sometimes excruciating. At first I thought this was just a common pregnancy symptom, but as the weeks went on and it got a little worse I began to wonder what the problem was. At one point I couldn't possibly stand on one foot to put on socks or shoes and that is when I realized this was not just normal pregnancy stuff.
After looking into and talking to my midwife it turns out that I have a condition called SPD. It probably sounds worse than it is (too close to STD, although it's nothing like that). It stands for Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction. It occurs when the pelvic bone starts to spread too early. The pelvic bone joints are not designed to allow movement, EXCEPT for when a woman becomes pregnant. A hormone called relaxin is produced which loosens all the pelvic ligaments in order to allow the pelvis slight movement at the time of birth. For some reason, the ligaments occasionally loosen too much and too early before birth. This means they can't keep the pelvic joints stable so the pelvis moves. All this is made worse by the increased weight of the growing baby and sometimes the symphysis pubis joint actually separate slightly. The result is pain in the pubic area.
Some of the symptoms are "sharp pain and discomfort when rolling over in bed" or "inability to stand on one leg", which described my condition to a T! I was so relieved to find out I wasn't imagining this, and that I could actually put a name on what I was feeling. After all, knowing is half the battle. Unfortunately the other half of the battle isn't that simple. The other half is figuring out what to do about it and there is no clear answer on this one. One option is going to a chiropractor, which I am considering. At this point with our given financial position I am just kind of praying and weighing (my options that is). The severity can range from mild to severe and I am just hoping that my case will not be that severe.
5 comments:
The bright side seems that your baby should ease out well. Did it say anything about that?
N.L.W.
I was wondering the same thing: is this supposed to make delivery quicker? I'm sorry that you're having to deal with this!
I don't know about that. As far as I know everything is the same in the end it just happens earlier in the pregnancy, but that would be nice.
I had SPD in my 2nd pregnancy too, and I went to a chiropractor and it really helped! Also made a dramatic change in the amount of 3rd trimister back pain that I had, in comparison to my first pregnancy.
Talk to people in your area to find a good chiropractor, though.
Baby is over a year old now and I still go the chiropractor every two months or so for adjustments.
also close to SBD! I'm sure however that you never have that condition:)
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