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Pregnancy problem: 'I suffered from postnatal depression'

We'd asked you, our readers to tell us if you have suffered a pregnancy condition like Kate's? Here, reader Mansi Gupta shares the problems she faced during her pregnancy last year.

One year after our marriage, my husband and I were eagerly waiting for the good news to happen.

And it did not come to us easily either, until one day I spotted two red lines on the (pregnancy) test.

The next day we visited the doctor who confirmed the same. The gynaecologist also hinted me of all the possible things that can happen during the long journey of nine months.

Surprisingly, everything was fine in the first month because I did not feel anything all. However, by now, a lot of people had started guessing if I am pregnant which surprises me till today, as to how people find out when someone's carrying.

When I went for regular checkups at the end of first month, my gynecologist asked me if I felt anything. I said no. I didn't nauseate even once.

But I had spoken too soon. The next day onwards, it was hell. I suffered from severe nausea and felt sleepy throughout the day. Since I was working at that time, getting up early in the mornings was inevitable. The moment I put in something, I would throw up. It seemed like somebody was kicking the whole food outside.

I used to go home and sleep without eating anything and getting up was equally a task. It was increasingly irritating with me having to wake up frequently through the days and nights.

The process left me constipated to the extent that I would often end up crying and taking it outside. I also took some medicines. But the norm was that strong medicines cannot be given during pregnancy.

This continued till the middle of the fourth month when all of a sudden, the nausea stopped but was replaced with acute pain in the ribs. The moment I sat down, I felt as if someone was pushing my ribs inside and it pained so much as if to signal that the baby required more space to be accommodated.

The period of between the sixth and seventh months were great as I started feeling what's inside. Sometimes I felt tiny fingers playing the piano, at other times, tiny feet playing football inside.

The onset of my 35th week brought more horror.

Seeing some mosquito bites on my tummy, I scratched and it spread. Soon the whole abdomen was full of mosquito bites. The itching was so much that I had to see the gynaecologist who suggested few creams. However, nothing worked and it kept on spreading to the rest of my body making me look so ugly and itchy all over.

I had got all the tests done to check for any infection. I was referred to a skin specialist who diagnosed it as PUPPP rash which happens to two per cent people out of every 1,000.

To my dismay, the rash had chosen me. I also got to know that it will subside only after the baby was delivered.  

The itching left me sleepless through the night, and I used to bathe three to four times a day during November and December and these are times of Delhi winters I am talking of.

I changed so many soaps, creams and medicines but nothing helped. The itching was so maddening that I would often sit up and cry.

I also googled and found out certain oils that minimised these rashes. But since these products were available only in foreign markets, even if I ordered them online, they'll be delivered only two weeks later.

The rashes stayed for seven to eight days and gradually started minimising. To me this was the toughest time I faced and even thinking about it now, gives me goosebumps.

I always pray God to forbid me from such rashes.. Everybody who saw me told me that they'd never seen such a thing in their life. It was that scary. Of course, it also gave me stretch marks.

I went into 24 hours of labour only to have an emergency C-section done on December 20, 2011 as the baby's heartbeat was running low.

I was in a subconscious state when they showed me my darling son who had been playing all along with me inside. He was all pink and cute. I also suffered from post natal depression with bouts of crying and not being able to walk. But that's pretty much my pregnancy journey.

Nowadays, we are busy preparing for our son's first birthday and each day my memory keeps going back and forth to the old days.

In an attempt to share pregnancy-related health information, we want to hear from you.

If you've suffered any complications during pregnancy other than the usual complaints of morning sickness and tiredness, please write in to us.

What condition did you suffer from? What were the symptoms? Is it a common side-effect of pregnancy that not many women know of? How did you cope with it/recover from it? What was the outcome of your experience?

Write in to us at getahead@rediff.co.in (subject line: 'My pregnancy problem') and we'll publish the most informative entries right here.