This morning my back hurts. Many mornings my back isn’t happy, but this morning it really hurts. As a result I want to be massively snippy and nasty. I think I am refraining, but I feel miserable. Sleeping is the main thing that makes my back hurt the most so it is negating a lot of the value of sleep.

However, given the list of potential pregnancy side effects:

Normal, frequent or expectable temporary side effects of pregnancy:

* exhaustion (weariness common from first weeks)
* altered appetite and senses of taste and smell
* nausea and vomiting (50% of women, first trimester)
* heartburn and indigestion
* constipation
* weight gain
* dizziness and light-headedness
* bloating, swelling, fluid retention
* hemmorhoids
* abdominal cramps
* yeast infections
* congested, bloody nose
* acne and mild skin disorders
* skin discoloration (chloasma, face and abdomen)
* mild to severe backache and strain
* increased headaches
* difficulty sleeping, and discomfort while sleeping
* increased urination and incontinence
* bleeding gums
* pica
* breast pain and discharge
* swelling of joints, leg cramps, joint pain
* difficulty sitting, standing in later pregnancy
* inability to take regular medications
* shortness of breath
* higher blood pressure
* hair loss
* tendency to anemia
* curtailment of ability to participate in some sports and activities
* infection including from serious and potentially fatal disease
(pregnant women are immune suppressed compared with non-pregnant women, and
are more susceptible to fungal and certain other diseases)
* extreme pain on delivery
* hormonal mood changes, including normal post-partum depression
* continued post-partum exhaustion and recovery period (exacerbated if a c-section — major surgery — is required, sometimes taking up to a full year to fully recover)

Normal, expectable, or frequent PERMANENT side effects of pregnancy:

* stretch marks (worse in younger women)
* loose skin
* permanent weight gain or redistribution
* abdominal and vaginal muscle weakness
* pelvic floor disorder (occurring in as many as 35% of middle-aged former child-bearers and 50% of elderly former child-bearers, associated with urinary and rectal incontinence, discomfort and reduced quality of life)
* changes to breasts
* varicose veins
* scarring from episiotomy or c-section
* other permanent aesthetic changes to the body (all of these are downplayed by women, because the culture values youth and beauty)
* increased proclivity for hemmorhoids
* loss of dental and bone calcium (cavities and osteoporosis)

Occasional complications and side effects:

* hyperemesis gravidarum
* temporary and permanent injury to back
* severe scarring requiring later surgery (especially after additional pregnancies)
* dropped (prolapsed) uterus (especially after additional pregnancies, and other pelvic floor weaknesses — 11% of women, including cystocele, rectocele, and enterocele)
* pre-eclampsia (edema and hypertension, the most common complication of pregnancy, associated with eclampsia, and affecting 7 – 10% of pregnancies)
* eclampsia (convulsions, coma during pregnancy or labor, high risk of death)
* gestational diabetes
* placenta previa
* anemia (which can be life-threatening)
* thrombocytopenic purpura
* severe cramping
* embolism (blood clots)
* medical disability requiring full bed rest (frequently ordered during part of many pregnancies varying from days to months for health of either mother or baby)
* diastasis recti, also torn abdominal muscles
* mitral valve stenosis (most common cardiac complication)
* serious infection and disease (e.g. increased risk of tuberculosis)
* hormonal imbalance
* ectopic pregnancy (risk of death)
* broken bones (ribcage, “tail bone”)
* hemorrhage and
* numerous other complications of delivery
* refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease
* aggravation of pre-pregnancy diseases and conditions (e.g. epilepsy is present in .5% of pregnant women, and the pregnancy alters drug metabolism and treatment prospects all the while it increases the number and frequency of seizures)
* severe post-partum depression and psychosis
* research now indicates a possible link between ovarian cancer and female fertility treatments, including “egg harvesting” from infertile women and donors
* research also now indicates correlations between lower breast cancer survival rates and proximity in time to onset of cancer of last pregnancy
* research also indicates a correlation between having six or more pregnancies and a risk of coronary and cardiovascular disease

Less common (but serious) complications:

* peripartum cardiomyopathy
* cardiopulmonary arrest
* magnesium toxicity
* severe hypoxemia/acidosis
* massive embolism
* increased intracranial pressure, brainstem infarction
* molar pregnancy, gestational trophoblastic disease (like a pregnancy-induced cancer)
* malignant arrhythmia
* circulatory collapse
* placental abruption
* obstetric fistula

More permanent side effects:

* future infertility
* permanent disability
* death.

I think I’ll count myself lucky that at this point I have: backache, exhaustion, heartburn (more nights than not, but not every day), altered appetite and sense of smell, very occasional abdominal cramps, difficulty standing up from sitting, and bleeding gums (only a few times).

Perspective is your friend. I still wanna whine about my back.