Why We Need To Talk More About Difficult Pregnancies

Pregnancy is one the most glorious phases of a woman’s life, full of joy of nurturing another life within you. You begin to love the tiny being tucked in your womb within the minute you realise that you are pregnant and had been looking forward to be. You know your child long before anyone else can. When she or he is awake, or sleeping, restless or playful and you can’t wait to hold your little darling in your arms. Well, this is what most women expect how their pregnancies will run course, but is it always this simple and joyful?

SOME TAKEAWAYS:

• Pregnancy is supposed to one of the most glorious phases of a woman’s life.
• But a lot of women have to deal with complications during this phase, something they are unprepared to deal with.
• Which is why we must talk about complications of pregnancy very openly, as it will help women be prepared.
• It will also help expecting mothers realise that they are not alone in their struggle. 

We mostly surround pregnant women with stories of beautiful glow and at most, sleepless nights and nausea, when it comes to pregnancy.

Beyoncé has opened about facing complications when she was pregnant with her twins in 2017, in a new Netflix documentary, Homecoming. “My body went through more than I knew it could. I was 218 pounds the day I gave birth. I had an extremely difficult pregnancy. I had high blood pressure. I developed toxemia, preeclampsia, and in the womb, one of my babies’ heart beats paused a few times, so I needed to get an emergency C-section,” she has said, as per The Cut.

The Lemonade singer has painted a rare picture of struggling with a difficult pregnancy, which most women do not come across, unless the situation befalls them. We often surround expecting mothers with stories of beautiful glow and at most, sleepless nights and nausea, when it comes to pregnancy. We sell it to them the most sentimental and spiritual phase in a woman's life. The reason being that we still perceive women to be weak to deal with trouble. We don't want an expecting mum to be worrying about toxemia or repetitive trips to the doctor or emergency surgeries. After all, the stress will have a bad effect on her and her child.

The overwhelming change in approach to your pregnancy, combined with all the hormonal and physical changes one undergoes, may take a toll on a woman’s mental health.

But as Beyoncé has revealed, pregnancy may not be a bed of roses all the time. And we must prepare women for difficult pregnancies, because the stress of bring caught off-guard will also not bode well for the mother and her child. Problems like preeclampsia (experiencing symptoms like high blood pressure and protein in urine) are not that uncommon. And yet we do not talk about these issues and many more as often as we must. The result is that pregnancy thus begins to feel as if someone has taken the rug from underneath you. One minute you are counting your blessings and reveling in thoughts of impending blissful motherhood, and the next you are undergoing endless medical examinations, or restricted to your bed for rest.

The overwhelming change in approach to your pregnancy, combined with all the hormonal and physical changes one undergoes, may take a toll on a woman’s mental health. According to National Health Portal (NHP), nearly one tenth of all maternal deaths are associated with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. This tells us why awareness about complications women can face during pregnancy is critical. It costs women more than their mental well-being. While doctors across the country these days are more aware of the risks which a pregnancy can come with, women often think that something like this wouldn’t happen to them.

According to National Health Portal (NHP), nearly one tenth of all maternal deaths are associated with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

But it can happen to anyone of us and talking about it helps. It will prepare women mentally regarding problems which may come their way. It will also make women dealing with these issues realise that they are not alone. That there are others who have dealt with similar problems. Like motherhood, pregnant women also need a sisterhood which supports them and eases them through a complicated phase. So while you go one to share those experiences of feeling the first kicks, don't hesitate in telling other women if your struggled with your pregnancy. It may help some woman cope with her problem better.

Picture Credits: Radio.com

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Yamini Pustake Bhalerao is a writer with the SheThePeople team, in the Opinions section. The views expressed are the author’s own.