Maternity care is led by your midwife, GP or obstetrician. This page is about what sits alongside it, and about the difference between the complaints that are ordinary and the ones that are not — which is the genuinely useful distinction.
Common and manageable. Nausea in the first trimester. Exhaustion. Reflux, particularly lying down. Constipation, made worse by iron supplements. Carpal tunnel symptoms from fluid retention. Restless legs. Back and pelvic pain. Difficulty sleeping in the third trimester.
Worth naming properly. Pelvic girdle pain — felt at the front of the pelvis or over the tailbone — has specific management: how you get in and out of a car, not standing on one leg to dress, limiting how far you walk in one go. A pelvic health physiotherapist is the right referral and it is effective.
Not ordinary; contact your maternity service. Severe vomiting with weight loss, which is hyperemesis and needs treatment. Severe or persistent headache with visual change or upper abdominal pain, which can indicate pre-eclampsia. Any bleeding or fluid loss. Reduced fetal movements. One-sided calf pain and swelling. Fever.
Perinatal anxiety and low mood are common and treatable, and every maternity service can refer — please ask, because it is a routine request. Herbs only with your maternity carer\u{2019}s clearance. The clinic is in Lane Cove, five minutes from the village.
