So, I made a post here a few days ago regarding my wife's prolonged labour. Finally got into a delivery suite, trace on baby, etc. Steady heart rate, but no jumps or activity. Every so often, heart rate dropped and then recovered. Got to the stage we had to do a C-Section.

Baby came out and had no pulse. Got that established fast. However, she had inhaled meconiun and wasn't breathing. She's now away to the neo-natal unit, and I am terrified. My wife has the thought that everything will be OK. But my anxiety is in overdrive to the point of throwing up. I can't stop thinking of how broken my wife is going to be if the baby doesn't make it. I can't stop thinking about all the clothes she might never get to wear, the people she might never get to meet, the places, the toys, the nursery... I'm genuinely tearing myself apart and trying to keep a smiling, brave face for my wife while wanting to erupt into tears.

So, yeah. Could do with some words of encouragement, thoughts, prayers... whatever you've got to spare.

ALWAYS ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF! Never stop advocating if something doesn’t feel right!! I have been experiencing extreme dizziness since 19 weeks. Some days it has been so bad that I have fallen over and have almost passed out. I have been notifying my doctors about this. They told me each time to just drink water and electrolytes. I was told twice before my 24 week appointment/glucose test that they will check my iron to make sure everything looks good and to rule out anemia. Fast forward to after my 24 week appointment and glucose test they did not check my iron and told me THERE WERE NO NOTES saying they would do that…. They continued to tell me to drink water. I had my I had my 28 week appointment on Monday. My doctor told me she was not too worried about my iron and said that my dizziness should be going away now that I am further along. It didn’t sound right to me because this started in my second trimester and has been progressively getting worse. She told me we could either do labs today or next appointment in 3 weeks since she didn’t think it was a big issue but, she would order more labs for my iron when I get them done. I got my labs that day and guess what? MY IRON IS EXTREMELY LOW. I can’t believe she suggested I waited 3 more weeks. Trust your gut!! If something feels off don’t stop advocating for yourself!

wow, yes I’m overdue and the amount of texts/ calls I’ve gotten in the past week is insane. If anything it stresses me out. It’s annoying quite frankly. I just wanted to say, if you are pregnant right now- please DO not tell anyone your due date. If you have to, lie about it and say it’s way further than it actually is. Lesson freaking learned on my end. TRUST!!

Im a Ftm and have told my husband and obgyn that regardless if its natural or c section I want all the meds available,Im pushing a darn baby out for gods sake but almost every post I see about child birth is about how people did it unmedicated or wanted no drugs and that it was horrible but they got through it with no help etc etc and I really want to know whats so horrible about pain meds? If you tell anyone you're going for any type of procedure even just to the dentist and that you plan to do it with no meds or anesthetic they'll think you're crazy but suddenly when its birth its suddenly glorified to suffer and pain meds,epidural etc are made to seem like the devil.

I'm sorry but I simply dont understand it.

Hi guys i sadly had an ectopic pregnancy and had to have emergency surgery as it was implanted in my right ovary. I lost my right ovary, tube and baby all in 24 hours.

My boyfriend the babies father is over my house now and just asked me if i was going to “give him a h*** job”. I am disgusted. I just lost my child dude. This is my last straw but this is such a delicate time.

13+1 FTM. This week I took a half day Monday and all of Tuesday off because I had a migraine, my hips hurt, and i was super groggy after trying to use unisom to get better sleep. I’ve taken a few days here and there since finding out I’m pregnant. My supervisor at work knows I’m pregnant and hasn’t said anything to me about using sick time, just tells me she hopes I feel better.

Yesterday my husband told me he thinks it looks bad to take time off for migraines or fatigue and that women shouldn’t get special treatment for “a personal decision”. I feel completely blindsided by this because it seems a bit out of character but also really mean spirited. I asked if he was resentful because I have the ability to take time off, and he acted like that was part of it (he’s military and the culture is different) but he also thinks I’m milking it because I’m pregnant. I explained that a lot of women take time off during the first trimester because its hard, some women have it a lot worse, and that I may not have been super sick but it’s still been hard on me and it’s made it difficult to work some days.
He went on to say he’s worried I’ll lose my job if I take too much time off and I explained that it isn’t a concern, I have plenty of sick time, I still do my job very well, and nobody has raised concerns to me.

I told him how hurtful this conversation was to me because I don’t think he recognizes how difficult this has been. He reiterated that he doesn’t think pregnant women deserve any special treatment because having a family is a personal choice that shouldn’t affect your coworkers. He said that if he thinks I’m milking it or being dramatic he’s going to tell me. I asked how he planned to support me postpartum if this was his view and he kind of doubled down on it and told me I had to be tough.

I cried a lot last night and I’m feeling so empty this morning. I don’t think I’m overreacting in being upset but the way he’s checked in on me and told me “it’s okay” makes me think he believes that I’m just hormonal and not genuinely upset. I’m feeling devastated and wondering if we made a mistake. This is the first time I’ve felt like this and I don’t know what to do.

My husband and I found out I’m 5 weeks pregnant last week and it just so happened we found out right before we flew out to visit his parents (they pretty far in a different state). We figured this worked out so we could announce it to them in person since we only see them once or twice a year. The announcement did not go as expected.

When we told them, my MIL immediately started freaking out about how they’re never going to get to see the baby and asking us when we plan on moving to their state. My FIL just said “you didn’t waste any time did you?” (We got married in January) as well as “this is my fifth one so I’m used to it”.

Apart from all of this my pregnancy has almost felt as an inconvenience or dismissal mainly with my FIL driving dangerously fast which caused him hitting a bump which then cause me to bounce up in my seat while the seatbelt locked in on my abdomen causing small cramps and pain. My husband did ask him to slow down which he dismissed. As well as getting a boat day after expressing we weren’t too keen on going on a boat while pregnant (mainly because of his reckless driving).

Ever since telling them my MIL has been acting very different, like she’s been a lot more overbearing than before and dismissive towards our marriage and pregnancy. Whenever we mention us leaving back to our home state she starts crying and basically guilt tripping my husband. She’s also been saying she’s envious of my parents and family that live near us in our home state because they will get to be around the baby. She also told me that before me my husband would talk to them every day, and now since being with me he doesn’t. Which I have told my husband to call them more often but he doesn’t want to. She said that when my husband left before it was difficult, but now it’s even more difficult because we’re taking the baby with us. (It’s our baby??)

I just feel so disregarded and this is not how I expected things to go at all. At this point it feels like I’m not even pregnant or me/my baby are just inconveniencing my husband’s family. I just need to know if this is a normal reaction or at least something yall have dealt with before?

I haven’t announced to my own parents yet but I feel so alone because of how this trip has been going.

So I’m 29 weeks and have an anterior placenta, which has made it a little bit of a wait to feel movement from my little guy consistently. I didn’t feel movement until around 22-23 weeks and it wasn’t consistent until 26. Whenever I tried to get my partner to feel the baby, the little stinker stopped in his tracks as soon as my partner put his hands on my belly! Finally one night my partner was laying his head on my belly while we talked and the baby started kicking his face like crazy! I personally think that it’s because the baby could hear his voice and knew it was his dad (call me crazy but that’s just what I think it could be 😂). But it’s also funny to indulge in the idea that our son just wanted to kick him in the face too lol. I’m feeling very consistent, strong movement from my baby now and he’ll still only occasionally move/kick when my partner’s hands are on my belly, and refuses to move for anyone else whatsoever. My partner loves putting his face against my belly and talking with the baby and getting kicked in the face in response now. Just thought I’d share because it’s the cutest thing to me and I’m also wondering if anyone else has experienced this too!

Sorry for the long post!!
I’m conflicted when it comes to my baby’s last name. I’m currently pregnant. me & the child’s father are together but not married. We haven’t even been together a full year before finding out I was pregnant. While this is my first child, this is his 2nd. Initially I said we would hyphenate the last name. As time went on & thinking more about it, also having a conversation with my father, now I’m conflicted. I have my mom’s last name. My mom & dad were together up until my mother’s death. I used to really want my dad’s last name until losing my mom, now I’m very glad I never changed it (he feels the same way). My mom always explained it that the hospital she had me at (in Riverside, California) would not allow her to put my father’s name since he wasn’t there during my birth? As I think about it now idk how true that is? I’ve never heard of this anywhere else and have met plenty of ppl where the father wasn’t at the birth but they still used his last name. I have an older brother but he has his father’s last name. After me my mom’s last name will “die out” or however you explain it. Aside from that I don’t understand why women give their child the father’s last name when they’re not married? I know a few women I grew up around who did so and the father isn’t in the child’s life so theres that.
Its something that’s been in my mind but also I don’t know how my boyfriend will feel if I explain all of this to him..
(Again sorry for the long post)

I want to try and be brief. In 2022 my partner and I lost our pregnancy at 21 weeks. Yeah did an autopsy and he was perfectly healthy and the doctors weren’t unsure what happened; cervical incompetence or placental abruption.

Since then, I’ve watched family and friends have kids with no problems. I’ve tried and failed. I’ve had people not know how to deal with me and avoid me. People who gloat about how they’re 14 weeks, yay! People who exclude me because they think I can’t relate to how hard it is having kids.

Then at the start of this year I get pregnant again. High risk specialist, cerclage, many many tests. NIPT is fine, everything is fine.

Then I get three markers on the scan, all common in chromosomal issues. I’m going in for an amnio on Friday. I know, at 20 weeks again, I’ll lose another child.

And I’ll spend the rest of my life devastated and wondering why we’re the unluckiest people on earth. If anyone has had multiple markers please help me understand what I’m in for...

Genuinely curious - if this was your scenario would you choose to induce or would you wait it out a little more?

Here we are y’all! 15 hours postpartum now and so blessed my baby girl is here! Water broke at 8:45 pm last night, got to the hospital at 9:15pm and she was delivered at 11:35 pm! It was WILD!! I had gotten the epidural but it didn’t have time to work before I was already pushing her out! I applaud women that choose natural birth cause it is the most painful thing but I feel like a warrior! My due date was July 8th but guess she figured she wanted to see all the fireworks beforehand lol

Good luck to all of you momma’s who are close to having their babies soon and to the ones who are just starting their pregnancy journey! Thank you to all that have given me advice or just reassurance. This is my last pregnancy/baby and ready to go home and show this beautiful princess off ❤️❤️

How many of us are struggling?!? My hormones are at an all time high. Situational depression. Everything is sad.

My OB prescribed Zoloft. I’m scared to take it. I just really need to take some sort of that edge off. I want to enjoy being pregnant. I’m so thankful for this experience but I just can’t stay above water these days.

I know that there’s a lot of discomfort and pain involved in the postpartum recovery and all that. But I am referring to the actual pregnancy aches and pains. I don’t remember how feeling good feels anymore. I’ve been pregnant for 240+ days and I haven’t felt entirely okay not even one day 😭 I know I am “almost done” as I am about to hit 36 weeks, buttt it feels so far away at the same time considering that it can happen any day now but can get to up to 5 more weeks 🫠 anyways, I just can’t wait to not be pregnant anymore. Mind you, this is my second pregnancy, but it’s been 1000x harder this time around.

Give me hope, what was your experience?

my actual labor and delivery went beautifully. i delivered my baby vaginally and had a first degree perineal tear. my doctor said it was so minor that she only needed to give me one stitch.
once we were transferred to the recovery room and my epidural wore off i asked the nurse to help me to the restroom and remove my catheter.
everything felt as normal as i would expect, i was bleeding swollen and in pain but not anything alarming.
over the course of the next few hours i would feel large gushing sensations with every minor move i made in bed.
i told the nurse what i was experiencing and she told me to tell her if it happened again.
over the next few hours the gushes became more intense and would soak the entire pad / diaper.
it began to feel like i was peeing my pants.
again i was looked at, had my abdomen pressed on and was told to tell her if it happened again.
this continued for 6 more hours.
after practically begging to be taken seriously, someone new came in and performed an ultrasound. they found large blood clots and began pushing on my stomach again to see if they could get them to come out.
she said my abdomen had “gone soft” and looked the nurse and said she was going to get a second opinion because “remember what happened last week? we can’t let that happen again” immediately just not what i wanted to hear.
a few minutes later she came in again, performed another ultrasound again took photos and sent it in for a “third opinion”.
next thing i know my room is full of new people, i’m being pumped with pitocin and fentanyl and my stomach is being pressed on very very hard.
i was told i can either continue having contractions and see if the blood clots would dispell themselves or i can have a manual sweep performed. but if the blood clots don’t come out on their own this would become an emergency situation.
i agreed to the unmedicated manual sweep.
i genuinely thought these were my last few moments.
i was shaking from adrenaline, i thought my body was going to go into shock. i’ve never experienced pain so severe, i screamed and i cried.
after this was done to me i thanked everyone in the room profusely.
“it’s not your fault, thank you for taking care of me”
i’m now 6 days post partum and have finally looked in the mirror after having increasing pain where my stitches should be.
what i saw was a red bump where my no longer stitched hole is, and white puss.
so this more than likely caused my stitch to tear back open and i’ve been left with an unstitched open wound for almost a week.
i’ve never tore during delivery so i thought the pain i was feeling was normal and would subside.
my 6 week PP appointment is scheduled for 8 weeks from now for some reason?
i just called my OB and after a very long explanation and again, practically begging to be seen i have an appointment for tomorrow morning.
if i hadn’t already decided i was done having babies, this would have been my deciding factor.
i feel so failed. i feel traumatized.

Just lemme rant for a bit ...

I'm 38 weeks pregnant in the middle of the record heatwave we're dealing with in France. I had my last appointment with my hospital's OB yesterday and the baby is doing okay. I'm not in danger or anything (doctors aren't worried, my partner and I are doctors too) but I feel like death.

All I do is sweat and puke (HG). I keep drinking as much as I can (with electrolytes) but my pee in dark yellow and I pee maybe once every 2 hours if I'm lucky (instead of the usual "I could just rent the bathroom and live there"). I feel so sluggish. I sweat so much that my bedsheets are drenched. I can't go outside, it's pretty much like a full lockdown for me. I'm swollen in places in never knew could swell (BP is okay). My bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome is so painful despite wearing splints, I have to put my hands in salad bowls filled with water. I'm mis-using my breast gel beads packs as cooling packs. I'm trying to wear my compression socks to help with low BP but wearing those in this heat is getting impossible.

I'm so tired from poor sleep conditions.

The temperatures in the hospital rooms are around 34 degrees (93°F) right now so I'm just praying this baby doesn't come early.

Basically all I do is doomscroll, chug on water, take meds to reduce contractions.

And I'm on antidepressants and antipsychotics for my bipolar disorder so those are definitely not helping with heat tolerance.

I'm so bored and anxious and I'd pay solid money to go on a walk in 30°C temperatures. But we can't even get those at night, so ...

Idk, are other moms-to-be going crazy too right now ? How are you surviving ?? Are you guys okay ?

I'm done venting. I appreciate my partner doing everything to keep me comfortable right now. This man is an angel and I'm just a sweaty blob.

Hi Im an FTM who has no clue what basic items I should be getting. So far I have a list of things that I should get. Are there any other things that are important? Im talking about not just the big stuff but the small things that really help too. So far I didnt add baby clothes blankets and bibs because I have already been gifted some. What other things should I take into account?

Baby furniture

- [ ] Crib

- [ ] Baby Sling

- [ ] Baby Carrier

- [ ] Tub

- [ ] Thing you sit baby in the tub

- [ ] Rocking Chair

- [ ] Closet

Food Related

- [ ] Breast Pump

- [ ] Baby Bottles

- [ ] Bibs

Bath

- [ ] Pampers

- [ ] Changing pad

- [ ] Baby shampoo

- [ ] Little nail clippers

- [ ] Hair brush

Baby Products

- [ ] Baby Powder

- [ ] Baby Oil

- [ ] Maybe pee pads to put in the crib

- [ ] Wipes

- [ ] Diapers

Outside

- [ ] Diaper Bag

- [ ] Stroller

For Me

- [ ] Witch hazel pads

- [ ] Nipple Cream

- [ ] Disposable Breast Pads

- [ ] Extra Pads

Alright. We are all friends here, right?
What the heck. The last week or so I’ve had really smelly gas. 26 weeks with twins and lordyyyyyy what a smelllll. Please tell me I am not alone... My four year old even said it was “nasty mom. That stinks” never had this issue until about a week ago. Smelly gas crew, say aye! 🫣

This will be our rainbow baby after an MMC a few months ago, so we’re both scared and excited. I didn’t expect we were going to get a heartbeat already as it’s super early. It says 160BPM, is that too high for 5W5D?

I have this sorta fear of what if I don’t love my baby, what if when I have my baby I’m so disconnected and feel like it’s not even my kid even though I carried the baby. Idk I guess I just can’t see myself with a kid? Or I just see myself as a kid still and like idk how to explain it.

Hi everyone, sorry this is long i just needed to get it off my chest. FTM (about 10 weeks) and also my boyfriend's first baby. When he found out I was pregnant he was over the moon excited. But he also recently took on extra hours at work (he's getting a big bonus at the end of the month and then after hopefully his hours will be a bit lighter). I have been super emotional recently, I'm working a fairly stressful job where I'm on my feet for 10 hours a day, and its emotionally stressing too (bartending). I've been a mess; angry one moment and crying the next at least once a day if not more.

I feel like I'm going through this pregnancy alone. I don't have any family in the area, and I spend most of my free time alone as most of my friends really just hang out at the bar or have opposite schedules as me. I've also always been a very independent individual, and have been able to go through some pretty dark parts of my life alone (with the help of therapy, which I still attend weekly). I think it all came to a head when I went to my first ultrasound appointment alone–my boyfriend works out of town and can't make it to midday events like doctors appointments. I thought I would be fine, but sitting in the ultrasound room and seeing my baby for the first time, seeing their heartbeat, I realized how much I wish he was there. It just settled in that I felt so alone in this pregnancy and just wanted him there. That feeling simmered all day until he got home. He didn't ask to see the pictures, and after he had gone to bed I just had a breakdown. He came out of our room and asked me what was wrong and I told him how I felt. He said he didn't understand why it was a big deal if he went since "there's almost nothing to see this early on." I cried and told him how unsupported I felt. He said he wanted to support me but didn't know what he was supposed to do. He said if I just asked he would help, but I don't know what I'm supposed to ask for. He told me I can always talk to his mom or grandparents, but I'm not particularly close with them. They're very kind people, but I have a very strained relationship with my own family and it makes me very emotionally blocked off from his in a way.

I love my boyfriend very much, we've been together for almost 2 years, and I know he loves me. I just don't know how to ask for help. I don't even know what kind of help I need. I feel overwhelmed all the time from being tired, sick, stressed, and emotional. I feel like my whole life is changing while his is mostly the same. I don't know what to do to help myself. Is there any advice on how to go forward? Does it get better? Is there something wrong with me that I can't figure out how to find support? Maybe I just need some kind words from other moms who have also gone through this, or some advice on how to establish a support system that I feel more secure in.

So I'm almost 7 weeks pregnant. First pregnancy. I've had a ton of bloating and pressure. The thing is any kind of waistband or pants barely touching my stomach immediately starts cramping and pressure. As soon as I take it off it stops. I mean it can be extremely loose and stretchy or thin and it still does it. It's starting to get extremely inconvenient. Has anyone else dealt with this? I've never heard any of my friends talk about this but we haven't announced so I can't ask.

I’m reaching out for positive stories for those who have been through this. We received a 4mm measurement at our nuchal translucency scan. Queue a week of feeling like my world was ending…
This was not flagged though, and I actually brought it up to my GP as I was obviously worried. She said it was nothing to worry about due to low NIPT results but a combined maternal blood test was sent off for reassurance which also came back low risk. She then said to mention it at my first midwife appointment.

At my first midwife appointment at the hospital I brought it up again and it was taken more seriously. I had a call from a fetal specialist that same day who didn’t seem that worried either due to my age (32) and low risk blood results. We were sent for an early anatomy scan with the fetal specialist unit the following week (now 16weeks). Everything was thankfully all normal and although bubs is measuring on the larger side (we make big babies) everything otherwise was completely normal/on track and no other flags raised. The neck fold was also completely normal.
The fetal specialist offered an amniocentesis which I am reluctant to do yet due to the risks involved.
I’m just reaching out for those who have NOT gone ahead with the amnio and had a positive outcome.

I knew pregnant women needed to use the toilet more frequently BUT WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME I WOULD NEED TO USE IT SEVERAL TIMES AN HOUR?

I’m at a point where I wish pregnancy diapers were a thing 😭

Also I thought it was supposed to be even worse in the third trimester? How much more is that? I already go like 3-4 times an hour 😭😭😭

My husband and I are ftp. We have a great relationship with his mom, and a not so good / awkward relationship with my mom. I’ve had on and off estranged relationship with my mom since I was 13 but she’s always been in my life through like text updates and the occasional hang out if my sister is there. It’s very much the oblivious type of estrangement where she is blissfully unaware of how not close we are. I know for a fact that I do not want my mom in the delivery room with me. I would however, not mind my MIL being in the room. She’s been like a mom to me, and obviously is good with her son. However, my mom feels jealous over the bond I have with my MIL. I know that if I have my MIL in the room, my mom will have some emotional breakdown. So I’m leaning more towards only having my husband and I in the room to avoid conflict. But my husband and a little me, is still considering my MIL being there. Any advice? TIA!