Common complaints

When to contact us

During your pregnancy you may experience various complaints. Many of these are normal and part of the changes your body is going through.

During your pregnancy it is important to contact us in the following situations:

• If you have (urgent) questions and/or are worried
• If you have pain, blood loss or loss of amniotic fluid
• If you have contractions
• If you feel the baby moving less (from about 28 weeks).

You can do this on the emergency number: 06 - 52 52 07 05

For general questions you can call our assistant: 079 - 321 71 72. If necessary, she will put you through to our on-call phone. It is also possible that one of the midwives will call you back later in the day.

Below we discuss the most common complaints and what you can do about them.

Nausea

Nausea is often one of the first signs of pregnancy. This is because the hormone hCG keeps the pregnancy going. The hormone progesterone slows down the bowels, among other things, which can make you feel unwell. If the nausea makes it hard to eat and you lose a little weight as a result, that is usually no cause for concern. If you cannot keep anything down at all, it is wise to contact us.

Advice:

• Eat a cracker in the morning before you get up.
• Eating regularly, spread over the day, often helps against nausea.
• Ginger can also help against nausea. Ginger capsules, ginger powder and fresh ginger have all been shown to be effective.
• Essential oils based on peppermint or spearmint can reduce your nausea. Put a few drops of oil on a handkerchief and smell it when you feel the nausea coming on.
• If this does not help enough or you cannot keep anything down, call us. There are anti-nausea medicines you can use during pregnancy, such as meclizine. Check with us or your GP first.

Tiredness

In the first three months of pregnancy you often need much more sleep. You may also find it harder to concentrate. Give in to the tiredness and listen carefully to your body. If you have children who still nap during the day, lie down for a while yourself too. This tiredness has often gone after the third month.

Later in the pregnancy you may have trouble sleeping. You need to wee often, or the baby is very active at night and keeps you awake.

Advice:

• Cut down on the number of cups of coffee and only drink herbal tea in the evening.
• A warm bath and a regular bedtime routine help you relax.

Stretch marks

In the first three months there is not much to see of the pregnancy yet, but after that things move fast. Your breasts, belly, bottom and thighs grow in size. Some women have elastic skin that stretches along nicely. For most women, however, the skin is not made for this much stretching. Tiny tears then develop in the connective tissue under the skin. Unfortunately, once you have them, they do not go away.

Advice:

• Rubbing oil or cream into your belly every day keeps your skin supple and can reduce itching, but it does not prevent stretch marks.
• It is important to know that the firmness of connective tissue is hereditary. Diligent rubbing does not always mean that stretch marks can be prevented.

Ligament pain

Your womb is attached to two ligaments, which keep it neatly in place in your abdomen. When your womb grows fast, the ligaments can struggle to keep up. You may then feel a stabbing pain at the side of your belly and especially in your groin. As soon as the ligaments have caught up with the growth of your womb, the ligament pain is over.

Advice:

• If you have ligament pain, you could hold a hot-water bottle against your belly.
• Also try to avoid sudden movements as much as possible.

Vaginal discharge

Because the vagina has an extra good blood supply, more discharge is produced. Unfortunately this is part of it. As long as the discharge does not smell, is not green and you have no itching, this is normal.

Advice:

• It is best to wear cotton underwear and use panty liners as little as possible.
• Also try to wash your vagina with soap as little as possible.

Constipation

The hormone progesterone relaxes the muscles in the bowel wall. As a result the bowel works more slowly, which can cause constipation. Pushing hard on the toilet can lead to haemorrhoids (piles). Haemorrhoids are smooth, rounded swellings at the end of the anus. They can itch terribly.

Advice:

• You can encourage good bowel movements by eating regularly, drinking plenty and getting enough exercise.
• Add extra fibre, such as crushed linseed, wholegrain products or bran.

Heartburn

Especially at the end of the pregnancy the baby can press against your stomach, and you may then suffer from heartburn. This is also because the muscle between the oesophagus and the stomach has relaxed, so stomach acid can come up more easily.

Advice:

• You can prevent it by eating small meals spread over the day.
• It is better to avoid fizzy drinks and coffee.
• Be careful with spicy herbs and fatty food.
• You can also raise the head end of your bed a little.
• You can try drinking a glass of milk or having some vanilla custard.
• If this does not help, you may use Rennies.
• You can also get Anta-gel, Regla-pH or Gaviscon at the pharmacy.