Effect Essay

“I’m pregnant!” This was one of the happiest statements that I’ve ever made in my entire lifetime. Growing up-- I had always known that I would become a mom someday but the thought of becoming a parent never crossed my mind until I was married. I rushed out and got the book “What To Expect When You’re Expecting”. This was my sacred bible. I would read every chapter faithfully and would go over all of the symptoms and bodily changes that were expected to occur during this wonderful time. The following paragraphs will touch upon a few effects that my body went through during my pregnancies. I will admit that you will probably find some humor in my experiences.

I was walking across the parking lot when suddenly I developed a cramp that brought me to my knees. I literally could not walk until the cramp subsided--which was only a few seconds but enough to make me look like a fool. The cramp was high up on the inner aspect of my thigh. My physician stated that it was from the baby sitting “low” in my pelvis and that there was really no remedy. One evening, I had experienced quite a few cramps and finally decided to give some Ben-Gay a try. I put some cream on the area that was bothering me and sat down on the couch. Of course, as one could imagine, both legs rubbed together and within seconds it felt like my crotch was on fire! I stood up and danced around the living room only to see my husband laughing hysterically at what I had done.

I worked for a family physician during both of my pregnancies and it was common for me to have to take our books down to the accountants office monthly to go over payroll/taxes, etc. I was about seven months along with my first pregnancy and had maternity scrub pants on that snapped on both sides of the waist. If both sides were unsnapped the pants would fall down to my ankles. I went into the accountant office and got ready to sit down to talk to our elderly male accountant and “snap, snap, snap, snap”. He certain had no idea what had happened-- I sure was glad to see him get up and leave the office for a moment so that I could resnap my pants.

“Sure…I want the intrathecal for pain!” I signed on the dotted line. Life was good when I had my second child, Katelyn. I was not going to be a hero this time around! I felt absolutely no pain until it was time to push. Katelyn arrived about twenty minutes later and so did the excruciating headache. Nurses kept coming in giving me “Jolt” and “Mountain Dew” to drink as they had read that caffeine drinks would take the headache away from the anesthesia. This made things worse. Two days later I started vomiting and could not lift my head off of the hospital pillow. Finally, on day three my physician stated that the spot in my spine where the injection was given for the pain had not sealed over and that he could try to have an anesthesiologist do a blood patch. In frustration, I agreed to the procedure. The nurse withdrew blood from my hand and put it in my spinal column. In less than thirty minutes I was dressed and ready to head home with my beautiful baby daughter.

Pregnancy can be a wonderful experience and, aside from the above mentioned issues, mine were pretty enjoyable. I did learn some life altering lessons with my pregnancies….never use Ben Gay on inner aspect of your legs, don’t wear snap waist pants, and be sure to tell the anesthesiologist that I’m prone to headaches when receiving future anesthesia.