The whole experience of becoming a parent can be daunting from the start, especially the idea of giving birth for moms. And while it’s expected for this to be intense and painful, there are still some things that moms wish they had been warned about beforehand. To help others feel more prepared and less alone, mothers on Threads have been discussing all of the unexpected experiences and side effects that occurred after giving birth. We’ve compiled a list of their replies below, so be sure to upvote the ones that nobody prepared you for either!
#1
That the second the baby latches on to eat you get so incredibly thirsty that you feel like you just crossed the Sahara.
© Photo: melissajoanhart
#2
It doesn’t matter if you have a v**inal birth or a c-section, there is still an open wound the size of a dinner plate inside your uterus that needs to heal.
© Photo: doctordragonlady
#3
The hate and resentment towards your husband.
© Photo: paty_twiter
#4
That 19 years after the fact, you still remember telling the anesthesiologist that you love him.
© Photo: niksappy
#5
How loud babies are in their sleep and how tough it is to be the only one awake in the middle of the night.
© Photo: bekahbianchi
#6
Probably an unpopular opinion but: actual birth being easier than contractions.
#7
How hard the first two months are. You are completely, utterly exhausted!!!! All you wanna do is sleep take a good shower and have some peace and lots of quiet! Beware you’re not getting that!
© Photo: paris_france_brought_me_in
#8
Postpartum blues. Standing in the bedroom sobbing uncontrollably saying to my husband, “what have we DONE!!!!” I was so overwhelmed.
© Photo: momwizard
#9
Standing in the shower in my hospital room with blood clots the size of a small animal escaping my body, pretty sure no one mentioned that part.
© Photo: natalie___emma
#10
The shaking/shivering afterward was absolutely WILD.
© Photo: sleighjes
#11
Not childbirth but pregnancy in general, that you could lose teeth during pregnancy! I lost a tooth during each of my pregnancies.
© Photo: shenell_21
#12
The postpartum body odor, that no amount of showering can tame.
© Photo: holistic_imamami
#13
How pushy doctors are and how they don’t care at all about birth plans.
© Photo: em1ly.77
#14
Driving for the first time with a baby was terrifying.
© Photo: jadegomez91
#15
When they talked about the "urge to push," I had no idea they meant you'd feel like you were p**ping out a watermelon.
© Photo: _margaretr_
#16
Your mortality matters more all of a sudden. I used to do alllll the crazy things and now I freak out over turbulence.
#17
No one tells you how terrifying it is to take a newborn baby home without any instructions or supervision. And the fear of going to sleep. I was terrified to go to sleep, for fear that something would happen to the baby while I was sleeping.
© Photo: rwduffie
#18
That one week after having twins and you are stealing a moment alone, sitting on your front porch, the old man nextdoor will ask you, "When are you gonna have that baby?"
© Photo: amaramious
#19
The phantom baby movements in your empty bump.
#20
Breastfeeding is painful in those first few weeks (I’m on baby 4), the afterbirth cramps hurt worse the more kids you’ve had, the sweats/chills post partum because of hormone drop off, how lonely you can feel in the overnight hours, it’s ok to ask for help, trust your instincts and go for the second opinion.
© Photo: xo.courtrose
#21
No one warned me that Hyperemesis Gravidarum was a thing I was MISERABLE my entire pregnancy, literally starving and dehydrated and yet people were telling me how “lucky” I was that I was losing weight instead of gaining it.
© Photo: xolo_luv
#22
nobody told me how lonely it gets after having a baby, and how much it actually hurts.
© Photo: zuulaikk
#23
We’ve all heard about the v****a tearing but nobody and I mean nobody told me your a*s hole could tear.
© Photo: xomelanxn
#24
How they make you get up and walk to the bathroom like immediately after. I’m sorry, you want me to do WHAT?
#25
Nobody told me that during labor I wouldn't be allowed to go to the toilet and every once in a while a nurse would come to stick a tube into my pee hole and DRAIN my bladder. It's been 6 months and I still can't fully hold my pee completely like before.
#26
That when you let your baby latch the sucking starts to contract your uterus, which is extremely painful the same day you just had labor contractions. It’s the same pain.
#27
No one told me that breaking your tailbone during birth can happen.
#28
If you have a c section the most painful thing is the trapped wind for 3 days after. I needed morphine for that alone.
#29
The contractions AFTER birth when your uterus is shrinking back to normal size. And how nursing INCREASES these cramps. WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME. I thought after the placenta was out I was home free.
#30
That all of my hair would fall out and then grow back in making me look bald and then insane.
#31
Shoe size going up.
#32
The itchiness when the epidural wears off. I was ready to shave my head.
#33
When you stand up for the first time and all your organs slosh back into place.
#34
How chapped and painful your n**ples get from breastfeeding. Like w*f why are my n**ples bleeding and feeling like their gonna fall off but I still have to feed a baby with them.
#35
The uterus massages hurt worse than labor & the adrenaline crash is CRAZY.
#36
Nobody told me that the first time you pee is like the fire of the gates of hell between your legs.
#37
Mastitis, finding time and a place to pump at work is a joke, c-section recovery is no joke, get the epidural.
#38
It hurts when your organs start rearranging back into place it’s like a weird, hollow, dull ache.
#39
I see no one mentioning the epidural ghost farts.
#40
That Post Partum can come with horrific catastrophizing OCD level intrusive thoughts. Traumatized my d**n self.
#41
Jumping, running, sneezing, etc. is a whole other experience postpartum. Also, the U.S. s***s at providing adequate postpartum care and recovery.
#42
That my v****a, that had been mine for 37 years, was never going to look the same. Ever.
#43
How horrible your periods are after.
#44
The postpartum night sweats that start 1-2 weeks after delivery! You wake up in the middle of the night soaked in cold sweat. It is brutal!
#45
No one told me about postpartum hair shedding. My hair was everywhere. Me and the baby was crying.
#46
My sister wanted me about the pain of breastfeeding. My mum warned me about the uterus contraction pains. But nobody told me about peeing your pants while absolutely not knowing you are peeing. It would’ve been nice to be warned.
#47
That they use a crochet needle to break my water. I saw the doctor coming at me with it and I freaked out.
#48
No one tells you it’s gonna be a lifetime for you get a proper shower.
#49
When your b***s are too full and the letdown is aggressive, your baby will pull off and a fine mist of milk will spray out.
It’s crazy weird.
#50
When you have a c/s, the nurses strap you down on a table shaped like a cross. And you're not medicated enough yet to not be fully aware. It's terrifying.
Even when numb, you can still feel the doctor shuffling your organs and heaving your body back and forth.
#51
hemorrhoids. nobody warned me about hemorrhoids. do you know how painful a thrombosed bleeping hemorroid is?
#52
No one told me I could seperate my pubic bone and need to use a walker for a bit while caring for a newborn!!!!
#53
The injection in my spine that was supposed to stop the pain, but didn't – the pain I wanted to get rid of was the contractions.
#54
Postpartum anxiety was so wild. No one talks about how deep rooted that can be.
#55
I wasn’t expecting to feel kind of like I got sucker punched in the gut the first time sat up.
#56
Nobody told me that when they give you an epidural, the needle can move and hit a nerve that numbs the entire side of your body…and can continue to move when you keep trying.
#57
I had an emergency c-section and ended up throwing up. When I told my mom after she was like “oh I got that too, sorry should’ve told you”
And then the shakes afterwards?! That wouldn’t been nice to know.
#58
The insane amount of times a nurse comes in your room and pushes the f**k out of your stomach after birth.