Monique Rainford - HER HEALTH

I have had the privilege of taking care of pregnant women for more than 10 years and I would like to consider myself an empathetic doctor. While I needed no convincing that labour pain is excruciating, I must say that, as I approach the home stretch of my first pregnancy, I have come to the conclusion that pregnancy is tough.

Even as I make that comment, I believe that I have had a relatively easy pregnancy so far. So, I can only imagine or rather take an educated guess of how much harder it would have been if I were experiencing a difficult pregnancy.

For some women, the first trimester (the first 12 weeks) is the most difficult time. The worse part is the fact that this occurs at the time when most people will not recognise that the woman is pregnant. The difficulty arises primarily from the nausea and, sometimes, vomiting experienced by up to 75 per cent of pregnant women.

Fainting spell

Occasionally, in my first trimester, when I experienced nausea or stomach upset, I would also feel light-headed. This led to one syncopal (fainting) episode early in pregnancy. As I was not anxious to repeat a similar episode, whenever I felt any discomfort, I would sit down. On one such occasion I was at the tax office with my mother, who is able-bodied but would be considered a senior citizen. I sat since I was experiencing some discomfort and my mother readily agreed to remain in the line.

Minutes later, I got a strong, reprimanding stare from one of the female workers. I guessed that she was thinking that I was inconsiderate for taking a seat while my mother was standing in line. I joked with my mother that perhaps if I did in fact have a syncopal episode that same young woman would wonder why I did not sit.

I must emphasise that my symptoms were very mild. Some of my patients have severe nausea and vomiting associated with significant weight loss and, sometimes even require hospitalisation. As the pregnancy progresses, the expectant mother may now be able to tolerate food but as she grows, she begins to experience the discomfort of her expanding belly. She often has difficulty achieving a comfortable position to sleep at nights, not to mention the frequent trips to urinate because of pressure on her bladder.

In addition, she may have back pain, cramping in her abdomen and legs and an occasional fleeting but sharp or stretching abdominal pain. And, this is for a normal preg-nancy! Further along in pregnancy she may begin to experience shortness of breath and she may find it increasingly difficult to conduct her regular activities.

The extra weight

Make no mistake that the extra weight which she is carrying can be quite heavy. I occasionally joke that it is like carrying a bowling ball in a pouch on the abdomen. She may begin to have increasing difficulty walking because of pelvic pain and the symptoms may be particularly pronounced on changing positions, for example, from sitting to standing.

I must admit that many of my fellow Jamaicans have been very considerate to me during this time and I readily assume that they apply this special treatment to all pregnant women. Therefore, to all of you supportive men and women, thank you for your consideration of the pregnant woman. For others, please keep in mind that the pregnant woman may not just be difficult, she may be doing the best that she can so, please be considerate.

Dr Monique Rainford is a consulting obstetrician and gynaecologist; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.