Since a large part of my whining late in pregnancy is due to SPD, I thought I should explain what it is. Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) is basically severe pelvic pain, specifically in the groin area. The two bones of the pelvis are held together by ligaments. Normally these ligaments are strong and don't allow much movement by the separate parts of the pelvis. But when a woman is pregnant, her body produces relaxin, a hormone that relaxes joints, ligaments, muscles, and mucus membranes. This allows the body to expand to accommodate a growing baby and the pelvis to separate during the actual birthing process. Some women produce an excess amount of relaxin and their pelvises move apart earlier in pregnancy, putting a lot of strain on the symphysis pubis (the main ligament holding the pelvis together). All when a woman needs extra stability and is carrying a lot of extra weight in that exact region. So basically, unless I move carefully, half my pelvis moves independent of the other half. It's painful and kinda feels like I've been kicked in the groin.
This happens each pregnancy. With Ella it was maybe the last month or six weeks. With Mia it happened earlier, lasting two to two and a half months. This time I've had twinges of it for maybe six weeks but it's gotten much worse in the past two weeks. I still have 10 weeks until my due date. I can't take the stairs two at a time anymore. I have to be careful getting up, especially out of bed or up off the floor, to keep my thighs parallel and close together. I now sleep with a pillow between my knees and have to roll over carefully (interrupting my sleep a bit more). I can't cross my legs or sit Indian-style. Even walking or standing too much makes it hurt. There are times that if I move wrong trying to avoid SPD pain, I twist wrong, producing round ligament pain or irritating my sciatic nerve. Sigh.
I know in the grand scheme of things that this is pretty minor. Once I recover from childbirth, the SPD goes away. It's not life-threatening or dangerous, to me or my baby. And it doesn't seem to have any adverse effects on the labor and delivery for me. It's just painful and really freaking annoying. But as this continues and worsens and my squished insides induce more acid reflux and I get less sleep and more cranky, I wanted anyone reading this to have a bit more understanding why I get so whiny or just stop posting for a while. Again, I know I'm fortunate that this is a minor problem. I know I am incredibly fortunate to be a rare parent that has not experienced difficulty getting pregnant or the pain of losing a child (in utero or after birth). So I try to keep it all in perspective and keep my whining to a minimum. However, I am very thankful that I only have another 9-10 weeks of this pain. :) Thank you God that baby and I are both healthy and help me to focus on that blessing rather than the discomforts.
2 comments:
It seems like several women I've known during their pregnancies (since I was pregnant for Penny and started paying attention) suffer from one of the unpleasant possible pregnancy complications. Everybody gets the heartburn and exhaustion, etc., but then there's the SPD, gestational diabetes (mine!), PUPPP, incompetent cervix, preeclampsia... but so far, I haven't heard of anyone who has to deal with more than one major issue at once. That's something else to be thankful for. And the end result -- a healthy baby -- is entirely worth it, of course.
I've had some success treating SPD in one or both of two ways. It could be that the pelvic bones are separating due to the weight of the fetus and the increase in relaxin. At the same time it could be that the muscles tugging on the front of the pelvis (tensor fascia lata, rectus femoris, and sartorius) are asymmetrically tight, thereby pulling one side of the pelvis into rotation relative to the other. Pain from both these conditions can present as SPD.
Three things you can try: the first is getting a regular belt and cinching it around your hips to, in effect, push the pelvic bones back together.
The second is getting one of those baby belts which helps unload the weight of the baby from your pelvis, thereby unloading the pubic symphysis.
The third is correcting the asymmetrical muscles in the front of the pelvis causing rotation of the pelvic bones (if that is truly what is happening). This exercise is listed in my book, Fixing You: Back Pain and will also be in my upcoming book, Fixing You: Back Pain During Pregnancy.
Of course there's no way for me to know if either of these scenarios is happening with you but just thought I'd put it out there as a possible cause. A physical therapist should be able to assess this for you.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Good luck!
Rick Olderman
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