... to think that it is wrong that pregnancy is nowadays too often considered an illness?

soutra at one time I would have agreed, I was very private, but then I discovered that I couldn't often find what I needed to know in books, I still can't. Places like this where people are prepared to share their experiences are invaluable. Books only skim the surface of things like having a baby, the menopause and so on, because it wasn't seen as 'nice' to talk about it. So it was impossible to find out if you were potentially in trouble or not, and most doctors are still male and many female doctors haven't had either children or the menopause.

No-one in my family had ever had the softening of their pelvis, or the constant sickness, I swear they thought I was making it up. When you have a pony to look after and four dogs to exercise and cats and a huge garden, and everyone else had a straightforward pregnancy and thinks you are being a lazy wimp and won't help you out, it's not much fun!

DD sailed through her first pregnancy, as befits someone very fit and used o swimming and cycling regularly. With the second one she had the sof5ening of the pelvis and was practically crippled, wearing a corset and hobbling about like an old lady. All this while working full time and looking after a six year old. It shouldn't bē an illness but sometimes it is.

I was working as a nurse while pregnant with DS1 but had such terrible sickness I had to give up work at 20 weeks. I was a SAHM when pregnant with DS2 but suffered no sickness at all.
I am also in agreement about leaving hospital too early after having babies now.Both of mine were born by EMCS and I was in hospital for two weeks afterwards.After DS1 birth I was very ill and not allowed out of bed for three days.Both of my DILs were out of hospital the next day, except for DGD3.She was born prematurely by EMCS, her mother was in for a week, baby kept in for six weeks.
My DGD2 has recently had a baby, she worked up till 36 weeks in an office job. She and baby, a water birth, came home the next day.The baby was refusing to feed properly and she had to express milk and give it to him by a syringe.Thankfully he soon got the idea and is now four months old and thriving, he is now at the stage of putting everything into his mouth!.

I was told morning sickness was week 6 - 16. For me it was 6 - 36 at least.

What I cannot understand is why so many women put so much weight on in pregnancy. We were told 21 - 28 pounds and both I and most of my friends were back to our pre-pregnancy weights within a month without dieting. We didn't expect otherwise. I put on 1 stone during my first pregnancy (and had a 9lb baby) and 2 stone in my second.

I think with celebrities they often several stone underweight when they become pregnant in order to have the fashionably emaciated look and in pregnancy return to a normal weight for their height, plus, baby weight and it is the return to emaciation that makes their weight gain and loss look excessive.

My DD has generally been well throughout her first and this pregnancy . She has stopped working at about 7.5 months as she could barely reach her patients to nurse them once her bump was getting in the way.

Nursing is too physical a job for late pregnancy. When working in situations not involving heavy physical activity continuing until late pregnancy is quite possible.

I agree with soutra completely about it taking a long time to get back to normal after a C Section.
Getting in and out of bed is painful. You feel as if your incision is going to tear with even small movements. Walking upright painful and the stitches pull for a long time after the incision has healed.

My DD had a forceps delivery with first baby but she was getting about much better when she came home at just over 24hrs than I could at two weeks when I came out of Hospital . I had a Csection after a long labour and it was already known my Pelvis was a bad child rearing shape. So no 2 was an elective section.
I do think I recovered better after no 2 . I suspectit was because I knew what to expect and I was prepared for how long it would take to recover.

I agree with you FlicketyB I put on 28 pounds with both my babies. Admittedly I took longer to lose the weight after the second one, but it wasn't a problem. With the first pregnancy I was eating for about 4 rather than 2 and 28 pounds was the most I could put on. I can't imagine how much I would have to have eaten to catch up with some of the celebs!

I don't understand the eating for two or four or whatever. When I was pregnant I just ate what I felt was the right amount and, indeed, the right things for me. (My well-over 9-lb baby clearly had had enough nutrients to grow.) I didn't diet after giving birth and breastfed for quite a long time. I was back in my jeans about two weeks after giving birth – not because I tried to become my usual fairly slim self – it just happened.

I did put more weight on than I should have on first pregnancy- I felt so well but did get cravings. Not massive amounts, can't remember the figures- but again, I lost it all very quickly, and more, within a couple of months of birth, without trying- and again, I'm sure that is the breastfeeding that helped. A bit painful after a Ceasarian, but breastfeeding does act on your tummy muscles and really pull them in back into place too- but I am sure it also drained any excess fat.

I never felt really ill when pregnant.
With the first one, believe it or not I didn't realise I was pregnant, but thought I had a tummy upset. So went to the doctor and he gave me some pills. Soon after the truth dawned, and I panicked because it was at that time the thalidomide scare started. Had he given me thalidomide? It was prescribed for tummy upsets.
So I went back to him and TG it wasn't thalidomide.

But do young women treat pregnancy as an illness nowadays? I've not noticed. DD and her friends seem to carry on as normal, wear tight clothes (no horrible tents for them), put pics of their bumps on Facebook, show around their scan pictures, book in for special spa days and generally revel in the whole process. And good luck to'em, too.

I don't agree that young women treat pregnancy like an illness, not here in the UK.Just the opposite I would have thought, and I have wished that sometimes family members would take things a bit easier.I think perhaps that back in the past society did treat pregnancy this way, but not any more.As others say, all pregnancies are different, some a breeze and others a nightmare.

Well, it is good to hear. The young women I am talking about are perhaps different in so many ways. Expats living abroad- so perhaps part of the panic is linked to that- being away from the comfort, knowledge and support from mum (mom..) and family. Which is understandable I suppose and I am glad to read they are not representative of Western women in general. Excellent news.