Childbirth is a blessing that comes with unexpected complications, especially for the mother.
Healthcare systems have advanced around the globe to cater for the different common challenges experienced by women during childbirth, but there are still unwelcome changes that aren’t widely talked about.
The most common challenges according to the World Health Organization (WHO) include; excessive bleeding after birth, complications after delivery, high blood pressure during pregnancy, infections and unsafe abortions.
However, challenges like nipples falling off, experiencing blindness during the pregnancy period, developing an odour and vagina changing shape are some of the changes that we don’t hear much about.
Women and men took to Twitter to share some of these unwelcome changes they have seen and experienced after @Anita-Vams shared her experience. Here are some of the experiences narrated in the comments section.
Swelling breasts – Daisy learnt during her pregnancy that her armpits were swelling because that’s where breasts tails are located and her body was preparing for lactation until she had to see a doctor.
After-birth care is something most people aren’t aware of as was the case for Chelsea. Often, it’s advised that you get all the help you need from family, nurses and midwives to help your body heal from the experience.
While Oma had pre-eclampsia, a common medical condition pregnant women deal with on their first pregnancy, having a stroke is a condition she didn’t expect when she got pregnant the second time. A clear indication that pregnancies are bound to come along with different changes every single time.
For some people, watching people close to them go through these changes has opened them to the possibility of unprecedented changes, like losing their sense of hearing.
Katrina was particularly thankful for options like surrogacy and adoption because she can’t see herself going through some of the complications mentioned in the chat. While most African societies are slowly opening up to these alternative options for having children, it’s interesting to see that some people are already looking towards this direction.
@Makus had a rather miraculous tale that needed God’s intervention to help the woman out of paralysis. Pregnancies are a spiritual journey, as much as they are a physical one as portrayed in the changes, which is why different religions have certain regards towards women.
This woman’s terrifying experience had one user wondering why she’d want another child after such an experience. We all have to agree that children are such a joy, therefore, regardless of how horrific an experience was, we still want to have more children.
The thread was rather too overwhelming for some users that they had to call upon people who had easier deliveries to share their experiences too so that things could simmer down.
Charles had quite the experience that probably Kevin Hart too had when he fainted in his wife’s delivery room. But Charles’s experience has resolved him to treat his wife much better, as most people should because childbirth isn’t a walk in the park simply because millions of women have done it. It needs care, appreciation and lots of affection.
You probably think baby shower photos are cool, but for some people, these pictures remind them how traumatizing childbirth is, as is for @Omotiola.
Who anticipates that they won’t be able to do normal things like tearing a paper with their teeth because they went numb? The question is how would you pull through this if it were you?
Two women on the chat realized that they had been through a similar experience. They both had to get glasses to help them see properly, but their eyesight has never been the same since.
@Aboki decided to show his mother love with a call and some money after going through the thread that opened him to the reality of childbirth. This is a sign to show your mother love today, the best way you know how.
Of course, there had to be some with a differing opinion who just thinks that the women in this thread are lying. But why would anyone lie about something so real and raw?
God’s favourite child was actually concerned for her husband who ran out of the delivery room because he couldn’t stand the sight of a needle stitching her vagina. How does this make you feel? Should men accompany their partners to the delivery room?
I have a female friend who when she told her in-laws that she delivered through CS, all said that it wasn’t childbirth if it’s not a vaginal birth. But when they entered the chat, their experiences weren’t easy.
@Aduke’s experience is another one that has you question if you really want to walk down this path, because how can one person go through all this pain?
Okay, how many people do you know that have experienced this or have you experienced this? Body odour is apparently a thing for new moms.
Judging from the experiences shared by most women seems like teeth falling or going numb happens often, alongside hypertension and memory loss.
I have seen my mother breastfeed my younger sibling and I was pretty alarmed when I saw the baby suckling through the wound only for this thread to ascertain that this thing actually happens.
You should probably head over to Tik tok for this because would you imagine the panic you’d get into if your baby was choking and then realize that it’s on a nipple?
@Harla Deen thought this would be an opportune time for men to learn how to support women through pregnancy but Amina questioned how this is even possible when we are barely told about these changes.
If you think you’ve had enough, wait till you learn that even voices change.
People often think that women who prefer C-sections are looking for an easy way out, but these experiences don’t say anything of that sort. Not even when it’s been years.
@Ada graciously shared too that even surrogates go through a tough time after delivery. As an alternative to childbirth, it’s important to acknowledge that they too could suffer from these complications.
Losing your mind, for some months? Medics in the house what could contribute to this?
The tearing and stitching is something that we really need to talk about because of the copious amounts of blood women lose in the process as was the case for this woman.
@Ebuka thought that going for a C-section is a better option because he can’t imagine his wife going through such pain, but we need to know that C-sections have their own complications too.
A nurse took the opportunity to mention that pregnancy complications go beyond body changes and went ahead to list some of the complications that could happen.
I initiated a conversation with my mother about the same and she shared that when she went to deliver my 3years old brother, it brought back the pain from when she delivered me, 23 years ago and she still feels it from time to time. I think that we should definitely talk about these adverse changes more because they prepare us when deciding to have children. What side do you think you are learning on after learning all of this?
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