If there's anything we should've learned by now, it's that pregnancy and childbirth are absolutely wild processes that people with vaginas should 1,000% be praised for.
And tbh, there's still not enough talk about the unexpected and long-term effects pregnancy and childbirth can have on your body. TikToker @cartersmama decided to open up this conversation and ask, "What's your worst lingering issue from pregnancy and delivery?" She also kicked it off by sharing her own: hemorrhoids.
She explained that she's "constantly on the verge" of clearing up her post-delivery hemorrhoids, but an upset stomach or certain foods will cause them to flare up again, causing her "entire butthole" to pretty much become "one big hemorrhoid." And naturally, she's pretty nervous about what her next pregnancy and delivery will bring.
Pretty soon after that, plenty of other mothers chimed in with the issues and injuries they never expected. For example, @spacecadetkasey didn't expect to fully RIP HER PELVIS APART while giving birth.
Her doctor said that pelvic breakage during childbirth is uncommon, because people can usually feel the pain. But all she felt was her daughter being born, so she just didn't notice! She also had to use a walker for her first three weeks postpartum, while taking care of her newborn daughter.
@sydneycox38 said that nobody told her that her back would still flare up in pain in the spot she'd been given her epidural, even if it had been YEARS since she actually gave birth.
@_jen_hamilton_ found herself with a clogged duct in her breast on a work trip, and after pumping for three hours and massaging it in the shower, she realized that the only way to get it unclogged was to bring her boob to her mouth and breastfeed herself. She said once she did that, the milk "shot out of the shower and hit the other wall."
Thanks to the miracle of childbirth, @carolannemiljavaccomedy said that sometimes, when she swims, her vagina will suck up "like a gallon of water" and then release it hours after she's done swimming. She now lovingly calls it her "Hoover Cooter."
And @pennylewis still feels the effects of her daughter's head ripping her clitoris during childbirth. Although it luckily doesn't hurt during sexual contact, she still feels pain during sneezing and coughing fits and when she laughs super hard.
To anyone reading this who still thinks pregnancy and childbirth are no big deal:
