How Pelvic Floor Pain Made My Pregnancy A Constant Struggle

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Just a quick reminder I am in no way a doctor or medical professional. My terminology might not be perfect in referring to my pelvic floor pain. The point is I had pain during my pregnancy and want to explain exactly how it felt to see if you can relate.

Please talk to your doctor about any concerns you have during your pregnancy.

To jump right into it, my second pregnancy was honestly quite miserable at times due to pelvic floor pain.

I am not saying my first pregnancy was easy, but this pelvic floor pain most definitely made the second one more challenging.

You can click the article to read my comparison of my two pregnancies. Which Pregnancy Do You Think was Better the First or Second?

Continue reading for some of the things you might be experiencing if you too are suffering from pelvic floor pain.

When Did the Pelvic Floor Pain Start?

Pretty much from day 1, I had some form of pain. It started in my lower back and pretty quickly was in my hips and pelvic region.

My baby was the size of a peanut! How did this happen so quickly?

I believe it has to do with the hormone relaxin that is released during pregnancy.

I think all my tendons and ligaments became relaxed which gave me a lack of support throughout the region.

My point is your baby’s size and your weight gain has nothing to do with whether or not you will experience pelvic floor pain.

For the record in both of my pregnancies, I gained 20-25 pounds. It is not like I gained 65 pounds and was shocked my pelvis hurt. That was not the case at all!

Physical Struggles Due to Pelvic Floor Pain

There are some common physical struggles related to pelvic floor pain. A common one is pain rolling over in bed. This sounds crazy, but it was absolutely terrible. Getting into the bed was supposed to be the struggle, not rolling over! Rolling over during my first pregnancy felt completely normal, aside from when my belly got large in the end.

With my second pregnancy and the pelvic floor pain rolling over in bed was the hardest thing to do. I would try to lift and move my legs. I would try doing it as slowly as possible. NOTHING helped.

There was one night I was hurting so bad I almost texted my husband to come in and help me. I was just about in tears.

This was by far the most annoying part of my pregnancy. Getting into bed at night should be the most relaxing part of the day, but instead, it turned into pain and stress for me.

Some other areas where you may experience pain include getting in and out of the car and putting on pants one leg at a time. Basically separating your legs sideways caused pain. Now walking and separating your legs in a straight direction probably won’t hurt. At least it didn’t for me. I could even go up and down stairs pretty comfortably.

Sometimes it would also hurt to sit for a long amount of time. I would feel the need to get up and move around.

During my second pregnancy, I struggled to play on the floor with my toddler. Picking them up also started to hurt.

My husband started filling in for me more and more.

Emotional Struggle of Pelvic Floor Pain

I struggled.

I am not a person who often deals with pain. In fact, I think I have a pretty high pain tolerance.

The problem with this pain was that it was constant. Yes, it was worse when rolling over in bed and stuff like that, but it was also just a constant level of discomfort. Yes, discomfort is a great word for it!

I started to miss my non-pregnant body. I wanted to feel healthy and capable of doing things again.

During pregnancy, it is normal to be excluded from things-you can’t ride roller-coasters or go in the hot tub. That stuff is normal. The fact I was struggling to hold my toddler or roll over in bed was frustrating. These were not difficult tasks.

I had days where due to the pelvic floor pain I wanted to just cry…I probably did quite a few times honestly.

It got to the point where I said I don’t think I want to be pregnant again. I don’t know if I can handle it again.

Delivery

I was both looking forward to delivery and terrified. I was hopeful that this would be the end of the pelvic floor pain. Get that baby out of me and I will be ok again.

On the flip side, I was very worried about my hips and dealing with the pain of contractions. I handled them pretty well with my first baby. I made it to about 9 cm before getting the epidural.

This time though I was scared that it would feel like my hips were going to explode.

I told myself when contractions start I will determine my pain level and probably get the epidural at an early stage.

With my first birth, I tried to go natural. Click to read My Birth Plan Didn’t Go as Expected: What I Wish I Had Known.

With this birth, I was pretty sure I would get the epidural.

I experienced pain all through the pregnancy and honestly didn’t have it in me to face any more pain.

Right when I got to the hospital I was at 6 cm and requested the epidural immediately.

After Birth

I feel so much better!

My pelvic floor pain is gone and I don’t think I will need any type of physical therapy.

I can do the things I was struggling with once again.

I do not know if this is the typical result. Some moms may find therapy necessary.

If you plan to have another pregnancy I think some sort of physical therapy is a must.

What I would do differently?

I should have pursued help during my pregnancy. I told my doctor what I was experiencing and they said if you think you need physical therapy let me know or we can look into that.

I didn’t do anything to help the pelvic floor pain during pregnancy.

I just kept hoping it would get better on its own.

If you are experiencing pelvic floor pain go find a specialist in your area. Take care of your body and get it in the best shape possible for delivery.

It is easy as moms to put our own needs on the back burner.

Pelvic floor pain is no joke. Get the help you need.