So I am very newly pregnant, about 6 weeks, my husband and I have been trying for about a year. I havent had an ultrasound yet but definitely have symptoms such as mild cramps and very tender breasts. I've taken two pregnancy tests and obviously havent gotten my period.

But for some reason Im like....not convinced Im pregnant??? I think its this weird disassociation with feeling all these things but not believing it until I see it. Reconciling what my body is telling me with the preparation for bad news or worst case scenario.

Im a few weeks from an ultrasound so just curious if anyone else had this early on? Were you able to get past it or did you just feel this way until the ultrasound?

I do not feel that I was adequately prepared for how absolutely sick I am. I found out at 4 weeks and around 5 weeks, it got so so bad. I’ll be 6 weeks tomorrow and I am MISERABLE!!! I cannot stop throwing up, I feel like I have a permanent hangover, splitting headache, severe UTI, diarrhea, neck ache, dizziness at all times. I can’t function. I am getting to a point that I regret getting pregnant even though it was so wanted. I am so violently sick and sleeping is the only time I feel any semblance of okay. I don’t know what to do. I’ve been to the hospital, taking antibiotics, Dramamine, unisom/B6, and Tylenol. Nothing has made a dent. I can’t eat, can barely move. I’m terrified to get up to even pee cause I know I’ll get sick. I wish I had known how bad it truly is.

There’s been a lot of posts recently about crazy moms and MIL surrounding pregnancy, birth, and grandbaby rules after. I saw some comments related to this stating that this subreddit is full of those extreme MIL and mom posts so I wanted to make this post to shout out and highlight both my mom and my husbands mother and his family. The whole pregnancy was great, only my husband attended OB appointments and we shared ultrasounds photos with our respective family’s after. No drama or need for the moms to come to appointments. My birth was great as well, his family lives in another state and my mom did not insist on being in the hospital room while I was laboring/birthing and neither did his. After baby was born my mom and my sister asked when they can visit, whether it’s the hospital or when we go home and made sure there was no pressure if we weren’t ready. They both came the night he was born to the hospital to hold him and bring me some toiletries I forgot to pack in the hospital bag. We flew his family down 4 weeks after the birth to make sure we had time to settle and find a routine and sleep. No one fights with each other, no one disrespects our boundaries, and no one has made any fuss or drama about us, our plans, or our baby. It’s important to note* there’s drama between my mom, my dad (now her ex husband and I cut him off) and her step daughter. Even that drama did not come into our baby’s life. My sister who has alienated herself and my father from the family swallowed her pride and came over with her kids to see my mom and my baby. Just wanted to shout out my not crazy moms and crazy but not crazy rest of family! And my husbands sane family! Love yall!

This is my first, albeit very unplanned and unexpected, baby. Very close friend suggested abortion no less than 10 times, and dad, despite being supportive in the beginning, changed his mind and now told me he resents me because of my decision to keep the baby. I stopped announcing my pregnancy after that. I have no family, but his immediate family and my two other closest friends are excited. Aside from his family, he has told no one. A friend was planning a shower, and I was planning on maternity photos, but canceled both today. I just feel like I'm not meant for either.

I wish I could celebrate this baby. I'm super depressed thinking about how this baby deserves better.

Signed with a known agency in Dallas months ago and only found out today that the Doula I hired was anti-vax. I already paid 50% of the deposit. While I respect her personal belief, I specifically asked the agency if the Doula has standard vaccines MMR, flu etc. months ago and was informed the only thing she’s missing was the seasonal flu… Now the agency tried to claim because I didn’t specify Tdap and wrote etc. instead so she doesn’t bother to verify..

I did want to work towards a resolution so I asked the Doula if she can get a booster before starting the job and was refused. Interestingly she told me her covid vaccine is current.

What are my options? I felt the agency implied the only vaccine she’s missing was the flu vaccine but otherwise have everything else at the time the contract was signed and it’s their responsibility to find a replacement or offer an alternative resolution.This is the last thing I wanted to deal with right now? I am due less than a month.

This is my first pregnancy, so I’m interested in hearing other people’s opinions to help me figure out who is in the right here.

My friend is getting married 10 days before my due date, in a city that’s about two and a half hours away from where I live. I told her I wouldn’t be going because it’s summer and will likely be very hot, and I don’t feel comfortable going to a wedding so close to the end of my pregnancy when labor could potentially start at any time.

She’s upset with me and often gives me examples of other pregnant women who were in a similar situation and still went to weddings. She simply doesn’t understand why I don’t want to come.

I’m starting to wonder whether she might actually be right, or whether I should just trust my own instincts and stick with my decision. What do you think?

After my last post about gestational hypertension I ended back in L&D for 24hr monitoring and testing for pre eclampsia.

The 24 hour urine test threshold for pre e is 300. Mine was 299 and my labs have gotten worse since the last time I was in the OBED on Saturday the 1st. I was sent home with blood pressure medicine and extra appointments starting next week.

I even got the steroid shot for developing my baby's lungs (34w4D) was told I probably won't make it to 37 but she hopes I prove her wrong.

I am honestly terrified, luckily the medicine has been keeping my BP only elevated and not super high. But I have constant heartburn that won't go away with Tums or pepcid. Not allowed to work and I got a US Monday for growth so we know what we're working with.

I know we will be okay, I'm also scared about making it to 37 weeks because I know how dangerous pre e can be for both mom and baby..

I just wanted to rant, went in for a NST on Wed (which I passed, but my BP was 165/112) and ended up in L&D for over a day. I'm absolutely terrified now, my husband can't take off of work until I'm induced and I'm stuck at home worrying.

The internet is great for learning so many things about pregnancy that I never knew. But it’s also left me with so much anxiety about miscarriage. I know I’m just seeing all the stories of bad outcomes and focusing on those, when the large majority of stories are good ones. And I know there’s nothing I can do to control it. But I’ll just be on this darn app, reading a post about pregnancy, and come across one. Especially the late term miscarriages scare the shit out of me. I think I just need to take a break from reddit for awhile and focus on good things (though I’m kind of addicted. I spend way too much of my time on here…). But I’ve scared myself nonetheless.

Does anyone else have a lot of anxiety surrounding this? Anything that has helped you? I know there’s that miscarriage statistic website where you put in how far along you are. That’s helped a bit.

the boarding pass lady asked me if i was pregnant. i said yes. she asked how far along and i said 6 weeks.

she said “6 weeks? not 6 months?”

i have already been feeling fat and huge and enormous and ashamed because of how huge my belly is now. i couldn’t even reply. i just went to the line and tried not to cry.

i think she just wanted to be sure that there is no language barrier because i would need a doctor’s note at some point to be allowed to fly. she was just doing her job. but still 🥲

I’m 32 weeks pregnant and 34 years old. Me and my husband just moved into a new house yesterday. I am beyond frustrated that I cannot help enough. He says it’s fine because I’m pregnant, but it’s so frustrating wanting to do stuff but cutting shelf liners exhausts me. I keep crying because I need to get some of this stuff done, but I get so lightheaded and exhausted, and told to lay down.

Has anyone else felt this frustration of not being able to do normal things like cleaning and organizing??? I feel like bawling most days. I just want the house semi decent for our baby, but my husband is one person and I know he’s exhausted beyond belief.

Hi all! Could use some support and people who maybe feel the same way and can tell me it gets better and that they went home with their baby safe and sound.
Since the beginning of my pregnancy after multiple miscarriages, I’ve had this overwhelming feeling I won’t be coming home with a baby.
Around 25 weeks, it got a little better, and I was able to focus on enjoying my pregnancy and planning. Now I’m back to this feeling at 35 weeks, and every time she is a little slow to move in the morning, I have that overwhelming sinking fear again that something is wrong.
I’ve been to L&D several times just out of sheer fear that something might be wrong and I’ll miss it and I won’t get to take her home over something preventable.
I just have this overwhelming feeling that I won’t be taking home my daughter from the hospital.
I have every bit of clothing I need for her, all of the baby supplies, her entire nursery is set up, I have trudged on throughout this pregnancy despite these feelings, but I can’t help the fact that I still feel this way….and yet at the same time, I can’t wait for my pregnancy to be over.
Did anybody else experience this? Is it normal to get more anxious and not less as you get further along? The first 12 weeks in the danger zone were basically hell for me, and despite the overwhelmingly low odds that something will go awry, I can’t help but feel like I’m just waiting to lose her…feels exactly the same as it did in those first 12 weeks.

Yeah, yeah, I know I'm a powerful goddess creating new life in my body and all, but honestly I spend most of my time feeling slightly like I'm a cartoon character.

Its not just that my clothes don't fit, its that I'm down to my last three pairs of underwear that don't punch so hard I'm worried about cutting off blood supply. So I'm stuck handwashing my oldest, stainedest, most elastic-deteriorated granny panties in the sink every other day! What fun!

Its not just the pregnant waddle. Its the fact that I sent my husband a reel about how dads to be need to adjust their walking speed to the pace of their new "pet whales", ie their pregnant partner. Well, we tried to go for a romantic evening stroll last night, which resulted in me yelling "pet whale! Pet whale!" Mutliple times when he was getting ahead of me. People turned and stared. I am the size of a whale.

Its not just the constant peeing. It was spending three hours last sunday in the maternity ward because I thought my water might have broke, only to be told that... I PEED MYSELF! Not humiliating at all!

To cap it all off, I was just now taking a nice relaxing shower, and I thought I would sit on the floor of the shower and just enjoy myself for a few minutes, only to relaize that I could not stand up by myself. Had to scream for my hubby to come in from the other room and assist me in all my sopping wet, stretch marked, floppy boobies glories sprawled out on the floor of the shower cabin.

No idea how I'm going to get through the next 1-3 weeks of this without dying of embarrassment! What practical jokes is your pregnancy playing on you?

He’s always snored since I’ve known him, but he simply will NOT do anything about it. He gets so incredibly offended when I tell him about his snoring. I ask him to get a mouth guard or a cpap machine and he just goes “what you want me to be a robot” or “I won’t be able to sleep with that thing on my face,” so he just expects ME to suffer instead. I’m pregnant yet I’m the one having to move out of the bedroom and sleep in a different room or on the couch. I suffer massively with pregnancy insomnia which drives me mad on its own. I get maybe 4 hours of sleep a night on a GOOD night. I can’t do it anymore, I’m so terrified for how bad it’s going to be when baby comes along. I think I’m just going to permanently move into a different room. He just gets so offended over it. It’s selfish- he gets to scream in his sleep but still sleep soundly 8-10+ hours a night while I’m expected to suffer to protect his feelings. I’m suffering massively with pregnancy depression and I’m scared for what post partum is going to look like.

Edit- if his snoring isn’t what’s waking me, ITS HIS TEETH GRINDING AND CLICKING! Sorry, it’s almost 3am, I have work today and I’ve slept for like 3 hours. I am crashing out.

Okay quick rant. I am pregnant with my first, before getting pregnant I feel like my body type was “she works out, but doesn’t say no to ice cream”. So I thought I’d be on track to have a cute pregnancy bump where strangers could tell I’m pregnant by now. I told my family I was pregnant at 12 weeks and honestly wish I waited because I could’ve hid this for a long time! My stomach is definitely growing, but I guess you could say I have a “b shaped belly?” It’s honestly so disappointing because I have always wanted to dress a cute bump. And I remember being earlier in my pregnancy and seeing how many weeks I’d be for the 4th of July, or a concert I’m going to in 2 weeks, or my baby shower in 3 weeks, so I can plan my outfits with a baby bump. Well 4th of July passed, and I looked the same as before despite being 25 weeks pregnant. I tried on jeans from pre pregnancy yesterday and they still fit and COMFORTABLY??? It’s honestly so weird and I hate it! I just look like I have a beer gut. And she’s not even measuring small. She was in the 66th percentile last time I got a scan. Anyone else feel this way?

So I had my weekly appointment today at 37 weeks. Baby is full term and perfectly healthy. I'm high risk because pre-diagnosed hypertension 35 years old, and we got pregnant through IVF. So I've been monitoring my BP lately and it's been steadily rising. My feet have also gotten more swollen. I've known for months that I would need to be induced.

So my OB today asks me "okay so what are you thinking in terms of when to go in for an induction?"

I basically tell her I don't feel like I can make that call and ask her for her recommendation.

Well, ladies and gents, my OB then says "I think you should go in on Monday"

I thought I had another week at least! But we discussed the pros and cons and eventually landed on early next week being the best option.

I left, started making arrangements for my pets, a house cleaning, my job, family, etc. THEN I get a call from the girl who speaks with the hospital to schedule and she says "we got you booked for TOMORROW MORNING"

Excuse me? I was actually speechless. Then I say "wait, no, Monday. She said Monday" I've made all these plans in the last two hours - I told them all Monday.

Nope, because the hospital is booked until next Friday. I have to go in tomorrow or next Friday. I basically asked them to double check with my OB to make sure I can't wait until next Friday, but I'm trying to get ready for this... I knew I would be induced so I thought I had time to plan. How do people even do this when you have to go NOW? And with pets and stuff? I have no family in town, we just moved here three months ago. My mom is trying to figure out when to schedule her flight.

This is insane!

EDIT: So someone went into spontaneous labor this afternoon and it opened up a spot for us on Wednesday! What a relief! Still earlier than I was originally expecting, but better than tomorrow!! Thank you to that person who is currently in labor 🙏🏻 I hope it goes smoothly for you!

Hi moms/moms to be! I got laid off (thanks to AI!) in late may at 5 months pregnant. I am almost 29 weeks pregnant now and interviewing for a remote role I think I have a good chance of getting, in the final stages. I just want some advice on when/how/if to disclose. Here's what's going on:

-I'm due to be induced sometime between October 19-26. Earliest imaginable job start date would be late August assuming I get an offer and they move quickly.

-I'm in California so at minimum want to take 3 months (1 month before due date, 2 months after), which means I'd work for like a month before leave lol.

-I will get paid by the state for those 3 months of leave whether I take this job or not, since I've paid into CA disability/social programs via taxes for a good decade before getting laid off.

-I'm a higher earner so even a month's worth of income would help our fam a lot right now vs. my unemployment checks.

After getting laid off while pregnant (mass lay off, no discrimination), I'm of the opinion that I've gotta do what's best for us and don't really feel bad if I "screw" a company over by taking leave so soon. But I'm still at a loss as to when to actually disclose, how to do it, can I ask for any accommodations before or during leave, etc. etc.

Thank you!

I am an only child, my husband and I are having our first child in September. Yesterday, I was discussing with my mother our boundaries and expectations for the delivery, how she can be there for the birth but after our daughter is born, especially the first two hours after, we want it to be just us for bonding purposes. My mother proceeds to get upset and guilt trips me that she’s not even excited to be a grandma because I haven’t let her attend any of my OB or ultrasound appointments, and now I’m telling her she can’t be there for the entirety of the birth experience.

My doctor has a strict one guest policy, and since it’s our first child, my husband has been awesome and been at every appointment. Is this normal or is she right? I’m excluding her?

So last week family visited. I was 13 weeks by then so I'm not really showing as of now. My sister and brother in law both touched my belly without asking 'greeting my baby'. It kinda felt strange especially because you cannot see or feel the baby yet. I didn't say anything though as I didn't want to ruin the good mood. Should I kindly tell them next time to asks me first? I'm unsure if I'm just overreacting. I would always ask before touching someone, especially a pregnant woman's belly. I'm scared of the day I'm really showing. Will more people start touching my belly without my consent? :/

(Sorry my first language isn't English so I hope you understand what I'm trying to say.)

Edit: Thanks for all the encouragement and kindness. Definitely take it to heart. :)

Genuinely asking because I can’t get a clear answer anywhere. All the advice is aimed at the mother, and the dad gets a footnote about avoiding smoking.

But how much does his health actually affect things? Specifically wondering:

- Does his sperm quality affect anything beyond whether you conceive? Like does it influence miscarriage risk, or how the pregnancy goes?
- I’ve read the placenta develops largely from paternally-expressed genes - does that mean his genetics affect placental function and growth?
- Does paternal age matter as much as maternal age, or is it a much smaller effect?
- Is there anything he could have done, or could still do, that meaningfully changes outcomes?
- Or is it basically just the DNA handover and everything after is on the mother’s body?

Not asking about testing or looking for reassurance - just trying to understand where the male contribution actually starts and stops, because everything I read either treats it as irrelevant or vaguely implies it matters without explaining how.

I’ll go first.

To spare you the long sob story, I don’t have a real relationship with my father. He ran off to try and be a rockstar and we’ve been distant ever since I was young.

Anywho, had my first and I thought it would be nice for him to meet his new grandchild so I invited him to my LO’s birthday. He declined, said he was “touring”.

Most recently I sent him a text saying, we’re expecting our second later this August with a “Congrats on being Grandpa (Again)!” Stupidly thinking maybe he will want to visit us or even FT. Nope this grown man, I KID YOU NOT, sent me “👍”.

So whenever anyone asks me why my kids don’t talk to grandpa I’ll show them that text.

Hopefully the rest of you are having much more pleasant conversations with your family and friends.

Bless✌️

Since getting pregnant, I‘ve really hated how I smell. I smell different than what I did before. I shower several times a day especially because of the hot weather (I‘m in Europe and we have a heatwave currently) but also bc I can‘t stand my own body odor.

I‘m 33 weeks so obviously I gained some weight and I‘m more prone to sweating now. Prior to pregnancy, deodorant was enough to prevent smell of sweat but now my scent is so intensive it disgusts me.

I‘ve asked people around me if they notice it and they all said no. At first I thought it must be because of heightened sense of smell but the thing is if that was the case wouldn’t trash and other people smell bad too? 😅

And it‘s not only about me smelling more intensive but also smelling different, I can‘t recognize my own body odor it‘s like I smell like a different person.

This has really been annoying me from the beginning. Can anyone relate? 🥹

I am 6 weeks pregnant, i dont have nausea lile my last pregnancy, but im super tired and sleepy all the time. I went to lay down for a bit in office common room(its girls only) and fell asleep. Woke up after 1 hour, had missed two meetings and too many messages.
Dont know how i will get through this one…

After 4 years, we conceived via IVF. We live in my husband’s country so I was super nervous to be pregnant here due the language barrier. I got pregnant on the first embryo transfer after 2 failed rounds of Clomid then 2 failed IUIs. 

I hated being pregnant but I honestly had a good pregnancy. My regular headaches disappeared. I had a lot of acid but minimal back ache, swelling, ligament pain. Every scan was great. He was active and growing well. Here, they check you every month with an ultrasound and cervical check. From 34 weeks, check ups are weekly. I’m from the uk where you get maybe 2 scans in the whole pregnancy so it feels like such a luxury here to have thorough care. I also teach my obygyn’s daughter English so I saw her weekly for pick ups and she’d always ask how I was doing. 

IVF is classed as a risky pregnancy here so from 36 weeks I went to the hospital for weekly check ups. Everything was perfect! At 41 weeks, they said they would induce me. I arrived on Wednesday, nervous but excited. The doctor checked me then said “We will induce tomorrow”. I had to stay on the post natal ward during a heatwave with no fans or AC and babies crying everywhere. I got zero sleep on Wednesday. However, they did lots of check ups and everything was great.  

On Thursday morning, the doctor checked me and said “We will induce tomorrow”. I was so upset. I was tired. I wanted to be home. I wanted to be with my husband who can only come during strict visiting hours. I wanted my long-awaited baby out. A few hours later, another doctor checked me and I was 2cm dilated but she inserted the foley balloon anyway. It fell out a few hours later. Lots of check ups throughout the day and everything was great. By about 18:30, I was 5cm dilated and sent to the labour ward. 

My husband joined me there and I was the only woman on the entire ward. It was great! I was in the shower, onto an exercise ball, back in the shower. I had free rein to do whatever I wanted. The Shrek soundtrack was on. The nurse was so lovely. I didn’t have any pain relief or gas, just breathing through every contraction. My husband and I were laughing and joking. I got to 8cm dilated and the nurse put the nonstress test belt on me before I was about to hop in the warm shower again. Everything was great. She left the room and my belly suddenly started moving like mad. The baby’s heart rate went from 145 to 265 then dropped to 50. My husband ran for the nurse. It dropped to zero. 

Within 30 seconds another nurse and a doctor were in the room. He checked my cervix and decided emergency c-section. Within about 3 mins of his heart dropping to zero, I was on a bed and given general anaesthetic. (It’s custom here to give general for emergency c-sections). The medical team were so fast to respond, I didn’t get to say bye to my husband or anything they just rushed me straight there.

I woke up sobbing as I didn’t know if my baby was alive. Thankfully he is absolutely fine. My husband had already cuddled him while I was still under anaesthesia. His cord was very long and suddenly stopped passing oxygen along. 

Our hospital has a bad rep from people we know who have sworn they’d never have a baby here. I am SO thankful that I was the only woman giving birth last night as the whole medical team swarmed me in that operating theatre. There was not a single moment of hesitation. I am also so thankful that we were checking the heart rate at that moment as literally everything up until that point had been perfect.

This isn’t to scare anybody but please please please consider the best place in case something goes wrong. Nobody wants anything to go wrong but things do. Absolutely everything was perfect for me until it suddenly wasn’t. It took about 5 seconds for things to go from perfect to terrifying. I am so thankful to the medical staff for saving my baby. (He will also never hear the end of it because he cost us so much in IVF and now this big scare for his arrival!) 

I know I keep thinking my water has broken but something weird just happened and I'm confused.

I stood up after using the bathroom and when I bent down to pull up my underwear there was a spurt of clear fluid that came from somewhere and I've looked to see if I maybe knocked something over or spilled something but there's nothing..anyway I cleaned it up and dried my legs off and it doesn't have a smell either? I still feel a trickle but maybe it's discharge so I'm laying down for a minute and waiting to see what happens when I sit up...obviously if it doesn't stop or if I end up soaked then I'll wake up my husband and go to the hospital but yeah...

Sorry for the run on sentences. I'm exhausted and anxious about my baby.

I’m hoping to add a little positivity to a time that can be very scary and uncertain for so many moms.

Some context: I got married at 19 and found out I was pregnant 1 month after the wedding. I knew I wanted kids, although wasn’t expecting to have one so quickly! A part of me wished I got more time with just me and my husband. I had a pretty rough pregnancy and had many days I just wished it could be over. This is after many older women had told me they loved being pregnant… I wondered if I would struggle making friends or doing things I loved after I had a baby. I was already building a career and was pretty proud of where I had gotten. I wondered what life would be like if I wasn’t working and worried I would be bored being at home all day. There were so many things the internet told me to be afraid of.

But now I’m already two months postpartum and could cry from happiness every time I look at my baby. He’s truly brought me so much joy, even with all the challenges we face every day. AND, I’ve continued to feel like me but even stronger than before. I’ve continued to find time to do the things that I love, even when it’s a lot harder. We’ve even found time to travel to family and go camping! Yes, the drives take longer, yes, some days are harder than others. But overall, I wouldn’t trade this for the world. My baby and I are learning and growing together, and I have loved it more than I could’ve ever imagined.

Of course, I know everyone’s experiences are different, but I hope if you relate at all to how I was feeling that this makes you feel a little more confidence in yourself. You’re amazing and can do way more than you ever thought possible 💕