Information on Symphysis Pubic Dysfunction ???

I experienced this type of pain for both of my pregnancies. Both times I found similar UK pages as you, but nothing US related, and my OB wasn't very knowledgeable about the subject. It kind of gets brushed off as a regular ache and pain - but it completely different. It's not just pressure, but it feels like something is broken on the inside. My OB also suggested the maternity belt, but honestly it did nothing for me. Another suggestion was seeing a chiropractor to have myself adjusted every week, but I never took that option up. I never found anything to take away the pain, but sometimes having a heat pack on the pain helped a bit as well has trying to lay down as much as possible (which is hard with young ones around, I know). Once I gave birth, the pain went away shortly thereafter. I really feel for you and hope that you don't have to suffer too long.

My midwife diagnosed me with symphysis pubic disfunction around 25 weeks. I was so glad that she was knowledgable on the topic. I found that sleeping with a pillow between my knees helped (especially my Snoogle body pillow which proved to be a lifesaver!!) Hot baths helped too, as did swimming!
See if you can go see a D.O. (doctor of osteopathic medicine). Dr Ann Arno is great, and she will do minor manipulations (like a chiropractor, but more gentle) to help aliviate the pain! My pain was gone as soon as the pain from childbirth subsided! Hope this helps!

I went through the exact same thing, to where it was even hard for me to drive a car and feel safe b/c of the shooting pains. It turned out to just simply be sciatic nerve, something VERY common in pregnancy, especially in the second and third trimesters--due to the baby getting bigger and weighing more which will cause him to press on your nerves. I would go ahead and try the physical therapy, it may actually help. My doctor said it was basically the only thing that may be able to help relieve some of the pain. Hang in there only a few more months and you'll have your precious bundle of joy! :)

I TOO HAD SEVERE PAIN WITH MY THIRD PREGNANCY WHICH WAS A BOY. GENDER DON'T MATTER THOUGH. WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED TO ME WAS THAT RIGHT AFTER MY 20 WEEK ULTRASOUND HE TURNED TO THE TRANSVERSE POSITION AND STAYED. WHEN HE CONTINUED TO GROW HE WOULD SPREAD THE PELVIC BONES FURTHER AND FURTHER APART AND ALL THE PRESSURE WAS AGONY. I COULD NOT EVEN PULL MY OWN PANTS UP AND DOWN TO USE THE BATHROOM. I CRIED CONSTANTLY FROM PAIN AND THREE OF MY KIDS NATURAL(W/O PAIN MEDS) BECAUSE USUALLY I HAVE A HIGH TOLERATION OF PAIN. THAT WAS JUST SHEAR PAIN YOU CAN'T EVEN DESCRIBE. SLEEP DID NOT HAPPEN BECAUSE THE PAIN DID NOT STOP. WALKING FELT LIKE THERE WAS SOMETHING WEDGED BETWEEN YOUR LEGS AND IT FELT LIKE I WALKED HALF BOW-LEGGED. AT ABOUT 36 1/2 WEEKS HE FINALLY FLIPPED AND BOY DID I KNOW IT. I FELT LIKE A NEW PERSON. THEY KEPT DOING ULTRASOUND AFTER THEY FOUND HIM TRANSVERSE TO SEE IF HE TURNED, BUT I DID NOT NEED AFTER HE HAD BECAUSE I KNEW. THEY SAID THEY DID NOT KNOW HOW THAT FAR THRU PREGNANCY HE WAS ABLE TO TURN, BUT I HAVE TO SAY GOD LET HIM SO I DID NOT HAVE TO HAVE A C-SECTION.
I GUESS WHAT I AM SLOWLY GETTING TO IF IT CONTINUES, TALK TO YOUR OB ABOUT ANOTHER ULTRASOUND TO SEE IF YOUR BABY IS LYING LIKE THIS.
MY OB AT THE TIME SAID A CHIROPRACTOR COULD ACTUALLY HELP ALIGN MY SPINE/BACK TO WHERE HE COULD ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO TURN SINCE HE WAS STUCK. BUT THE INSURANCE SAID NO. I DID RESEARCH IT AND THEY ARE SAFE FOR THIS DURING PREGNANY AS LONG AS THE PREGNANCY IS LOW RISK AND THEY DON'T TRY TO MANIPULATE THE BABY ITSELF. THEY ALSO SAID TO GET ON ALL FOUR AND LET THE BELLY HANG AND IT ACTUALLY DID RELIEVE SOME OF THE INTENSENESS, BUT IT RETURN AS SOON AS HUBBY HELPED BE BACK TO MY FEET.
HOPE THIS HELPS EVEN THOUGH IT WAS NOT ABOUT THE SPD.

Hi E., I think I had the same as you. My doctor told me it was sciatica which is when the sciatic nerve gets pinched from everything in your body getting bigger pretty much. I had it pretty bad when I would sit or lay down for a period of time and then have to get up. It got so bad one time I was sitting on the toilet and I got stuck and couldn't get up because the pain was so bad. I just sat crying in the bathroom until my husband found me and tried to help me get up by rubbing my hips. I too was told that physical therapy might help. I knew some physical therapists and they gave me some stretches that they thought would help, which they kind of did. THey were pretty much just hip rotations and it felt good. Mine eventually went away when the baby switched positions. Hopefully yours will do the same. In the mean time, good luck and see if you can get some nice massages from hubby.

I had this same kind of pain when carrying my fourth child. She was not in a wierd position and was not pinching my nerves. It felt like my hips were separating apart when I tried to roll over in bed, get up from my chair at work, while walking or getting out of a car. I was told by my doctor that a hormone that you produce helps to loosen your hips to prepare for delivery. I started to have trouble lifting my legs to even put on pants since the pain was so bad. (I also have a high tolerance for pain since I had 3 children naturally.) My doctor referred me to a physical therapist. She had me do exercises to strengthen my muscles in that area and did deep tissue massages. I ended up having to wear two belts as well. One was the maternity belt and the other was worn over my clothes around my hips. The physical therapist also gave me tips on how to sleep and turn while in bed. She also insisted that I get up from my chair more often and gave me tips on the correct way to get up from a sitting position. With her help I was able to get to a level in which the pain was just an ache. After my daughter was born by c-section (since she was over 10 pounds), I still had the aches for about two weeks which is the recovery time associated with a c-section any way. With the help of Motrin, the pain eventually went away.

I would ask for the referral to the physical therapist as soon as possible. There are some great ones out there. I hope everything goes well with the rest of your pregnancy.

when i was pregnant i suffered from sciatica...whenever i would get off work, my hip and legs would hurt so much, i could barely walk. my ob said the baby was lying in an awkward position and putting pressure on my sciatic nerve. i would have to lay on my back and kind of pull my self in to a ball to stretch the pain away.

For your next visit print the information and include the web address for them to read and get more info if needed. My doctor is somewhat open to new things. So when I had the web address on there as well, he was able to look into it himself and see what all he could find out.

I too had that pain - I called it the "wish-bone pain" - because it felt like my legs were being snapped off like a turkey wish-bone! It started for me in my 24th week of pregnancy and honestly, i hate to tell you this, but it didn't go away until about 3 weeks AFTER birth. I slept in the recliner chair for the last 8 weeks of my pregnancy because it was just too excruciating to lay down on my side in bed.

I did use chiropractic - and the maternity belt - but nothing helped me at all. I am so sorry! I truly know your pain! I hope you find something that helps. I did find that alternating a heating pad on and off helped me to fall asleep at night.

Good Luck!