Things You Never Knew the Female Body Could Do

Went for a long walk on the weekend and by the end of it, suddenly felt a sharp, stabbing pain right in the girl parts. I was only a few blocks from home but had to kind of hobble the rest of the way.

Was mildly concerned, since although I felt similar things last time, it wasn't until I was pretty much 9 months pregnant and ready to pop. Last time, I just chalked it up to "weird things that you feel when you're pregnant" but I don't want to go through four months of mild pain this time! So yesterday I asked the midwife about it and she said that this is what sometimes happens with your second, and subsequent, babies. Things just aren't the same as they used to be and you pay the price.

Apparently, the pelvis is made up of four separate parts, including the two big hip bones (makes sense, although I always thought of the pelvis as one big oval), and where the hip bones meet in the front is called the "symphysis pubis". This is basically a gap (4-5 mm wide) that is held together by cartilage; during pregnancy, the cartilage loosens and a width of up to 9mm between the two bones is normal. (Which, really, we should all be thankful for, since you want as much room for baby passage as possible!)

You can see then how, though, for some people, this gap causes trouble - anywhere from mild pain (what I felt) to severe (feels like your pelvic bones are grinding together - arghh!). "The main symptoms are pain in your pubic area, groin, the inside of your thighs and sometimes in your lower back and hips. This kind of pain is more common for women having their second or subsequent baby." The midwife said that once things get stretched out once, they stretch out faster each time after that. Yeah, I've noticed my belly!

The treatments are things like wearing a brace, seeing a physiotherapist or chiropractor and sometimes, using crutches! Apparently some women are quite debilitated by this. For the average person like me though, it's just annoying and you just have to try to watch some of the activities that you do.

Since I'd never heard of this before (and I'm like, pregnancy/baby obsessed!), thought I'd share. Who knew that your body could do this?!

I like how in the description below, they say that you should avoid picking up and carrying your toddler. Yeah, right! Try to tell that to my 11 month old!

For women having their second or subsequent pregnancy (and the sibling is a toddler), try to avoid lifting and carrying them as much as possible. The movements involved when lifting and the continued carrying can cause, or inflame, pain in the Symphysis Pubis. If you need to pick up or carry your toddler, be aware of your posture. You can look at correct lifting and posture techniques in backache during pregnancy.