Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD)

When I’m writing here I don’t usually draw on my own pregnancy and birth experiences but I have experienced SPD and, although it affects 1 in 4 pregnancies, there is so little known about it that I thought it would be worth highlighting the issue.

I first became aware of this condition about 3 months before the birth of baby number two, although health professionals advise that SPD can occur at any point during pregnancy. I began to get pain in between my legs, which started off as discomfort and gradually built up over time into excrutiating agony.

I should point out that this condition can affect every woman in varying degrees – some say that it is annoyingly uncomfortable and to some it becomes unbearable, and I was unfortunately one of the latter. It got to a point when I couldn’t walk without the help of crutches and night-time visits to the bathroom took a half hour to 45 minutes because getting in and out of bed caused such immense pain.

You see, during pregnancy the body produces a hormone called relaxin which softens the ligaments of the two halves of your pelvis to allow baby to pass through more easily. SPD occurs when these joints move more and cause inflammation and pain and, unfortunately, if you have suffered from this condition in one pregnancy then you are more likely to have it again carrying subsequent babies.

One of the worst things about SPD, as I found, is that there isn’t a lot doctors can do for the pain. You may be given a support girdle and you can do exercises to make the birth less painful but, in general, this is a condition which has to be managed rather than treated. The good news is that for many, myself included, the pain subsides soon after birth, but there can be residual pain for anything up to one year after.

If you need to know about SPD then why not visit www.babycentre.co.uk where they take an indepth look at not only the conditions, but the reasons for it and also some self-help tips to get you through.You can read their full discussion at http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/antenatalhealth/physicalhealth/pelvicpain/ ,and for anyone unfortunate enough to have to deal with SPD why not visit La Fee Noire who offer the Hug-a-bump SPD maternity support band, found at http://www.lafeenoire.com/.