Pain is common during pregnancy but a lot of times pregnant women accept it as ‘Normal’. Here is a story of one such expecting mom at FabMoms. Read on to find how she discovered what was actually normal, as worded by her treating Prenatal expert.
My journey of being a Child Birth Educator with FabMoms dotted with prenatal classes, child-birth sessions, labor-preparation modules, workshops – has been overwhelming as well as enriching.
I firmly believe that each pregnancy is unique. Even a mother to two children will surely have two different pregnancy stories to share. If that is so then it is easy for anyone to guess how many stories will I have – to share, with so many enthusiastically beaming expecting mothers around me.
It’s the story of Carmen that is coming to my mind to share with you today.
Before I begin, it would be fair to first let you know that I am also blessed with Healing hands as a qualified physiotherapist apart from being a certified child-birth educator. Relieving the patients from their pain gives immense satisfaction & when it comes to pain during pregnancy; it becomes all the more sensitive.
So Carmen came to me to do her antenatal program for only 7 days while she was visiting her mum who stays close by. I clearly recall – She came in with a heavy looking belly & a beautiful smile. She was into her 7th month of pregnancy. During her primary screening and pregnancy assessment, she said a YES to:
- Swelling on feet
- Stress incontinence
- Leg cramps
But when I asked her for back-pain (which is the most common pregnancy associated complaint); she says “Yeah back pain – I have had that even before pregnancy – but that’s normal !!” with a big smile again.
I was astonished to hear someone referring to Pain that too during pregnancy as “Normal”.
I agree pain & discomfort are COMMON during pregnancy but they surely could not be and should not be accepted as “NORMAL”.
I realized that at times we get so used to certain pains that we succumb to them and start considering them an inevitable part of our life… so much so that we start missing them if they’re gone for a while.
Further assessment of Carmen I discovered that she couldn’t sit crossed legged at all ie. in the hip opener pose (butterfly pose) in our lingo.
She had infact never sat on the floor all her life ! Another alarm !!!
All her lower body musculature was tight : as tight as a … (dear reader you can fill that blank for yourself 😉
She had pain radiating down the leg right till her foot with the sole – completely numb.
She said jokingly, “I am always in the air as I always feel my foot numb; as if I am walking on a bubble wrap.”
Pat started my pain management session as this was on the top of my priority list before I could start the actual antenatal fitness program for her.
I had to relieve her back pain, reduce her nerve compression, improve her flexibility & then progress her to strengthening & she was here all for 7 days.
My instincts of a prenatal expert worked hand in hand with the healing hands of a Physiotherapist. A comprehensive & integrated approach which was safe for her baby, needed no pain medications and utilising specialized techniques like Neurodynamics, Autostretching, & gradual progression to core activation & basic strengthening helped her improve by 80% ; with her leg numbness & radiating pain completely gone.
She said happily, “Hey doc, you got me back to Earth!!”
It was after a long time she found herself off her “NORMAL PAINS” & she started realizing what “normalcy” is all about!
Just 7 days of connect & she writes few beautiful words for me & FabMoms saying her long standing pain which had been a part of her life even before her pregnancy have disappeared like MAGIC in these 7 days … and everyone thought pain would only increase during pregnancy.
Carmen today is blessed with an adorable baby boy & she is enjoying her motherhood bliss; free of pain.
Another cheers to motherhood!
Contributed by Dr. Anuradha Mandalekar (PT). She is a prenatal expert loved equally by the expectant and new moms for her very practical tips to ease their everyday discomforts.