How was it for you?

Abstract

I have been on the receiving end of questions such as “How does it feel to be on the receiving end?” and “You don't need any help do you?” for much of this past year. The reason? A common condition, experienced by hundreds of thousands of women every year: pregnancy. Friends and colleagues were amused by my condition because I am a lecturer in obstetrics and gynaecology. Well, to those who asked, but especially to those who did not, let me tell you how I found this experience. Within days of me confirming my pregnancy, early morning sickness arrived. Well actually, all day and night nausea, and frequent vomiting. “This is a common condition, which usually resolves around 12 to 14 weeks,” states literature widely available to the newly pregnant. I tried acupressure bands, which made my wrists hurt but reduced the metallic taste in my mouth; ginger, which made no difference at all to my symptoms; and once, having been sick five times in an hour while doing an antenatal clinic, intramuscular metoclopramide. The problem was what to eat and drink. Strawberry flavoured milk shakes and chicken breasts became staple foods until around 18 weeks, when the vomiting ceased. I had a new problem then. I had decided, with my husband, that I should have an …