‘Having a baby is a wonderful experience and you’ll never regret it.’

Have you ever heard that one before?

Having been through the whole pregnancy-childbirth-childrearing thing, I’m convinced that childless women are kept in the dark about the real story so they won’t be frightened away from motherhood for good.
 

Exhibit A: Beth’s experiment: My friend Beth has just had her second child. She conducted a simple experiment while pregnant the second time in order to gauge the response of mothers. When strangers asked her if she was having her first child, she’d answer ‘yes’ to some and ‘no’ to others. Those she said ‘yes’ to regaled her only with glowing stories about how wonderful childbirth and motherhood was. Those she said ‘no’ to told her only horror stories – aching bones, sleep deprivation, screaming newborns, chronic reflux and cracked nipples.

Now, as mums yourselves, you’re no doubt conscious of what a daunting prospect first-time parenthood is. And you wouldn’t want to scare prospective mums from ever giving it a go. But neither should they be lied to. I’m a full-disclosure kind of gal and I reckon it’s our duty as experienced breeders to tell the new mums the truth.

So, over the coming weeks I’m going to share some of the secrets and glossed-over facts about pregnancy so that mums-to-be out there understand what it is they’re getting into. I by no means want to stop anyone from procreating. After all, it’s the primary reason we’re put on this planet. But the journalist in me believes that all women have a right to know the truth, however unsavoury.

So here’s the first thing I bet your mother never told you: pregnancy is not 9 month’s long. Forty weeks is far closer to 10 months. And what people fail to mention is that you’re actually likely to be carrying bub for 42 weeks.

One book I read said that 95% of first-time mothers give birth at 41 or 42 weeks. And that much-touted baby bible What to Expect When You’re Expecting states that ‘many babies continue to thrive well into their tenth month’.

Now, 2 or 3 weeks may not sound like such a long time extra to wait. But when you’re carrying an extra 15 kilos, you can’t sleep, you can’t fit into any clothes smaller than a bed sheet-sized poncho and your spine has been pulled totally out of alignment, 2 or 3 weeks feels like a lifetime.

Don’t bank on 9 months, ladies. Bank on 10 to 10 and a half!

Cheers
Kate