BellaOnline Forums Relationships Married No Kids aversion to pregnancy/childbirth experience

Count me in as another individual who has an aversion to pregnancy/childbirth. Just the idea of pregnancy makes me feel trapped... and the thought of something growing inside me reminds me of Alien or Rosemary's Baby.
I also don't want to wreck my body. Pregnancy causes PERMANENT changes to a woman's body and I just don't want those changes.
Add in the idea of childbirth... trying to shove something that big out of my body is not appealing at all to me, along with the ripping and tearing that it causes, having doctors look at my privates on a regular basis, the possibility of pooping during childbirth, all of the blood, etc etc etc.
I also spoke to a few women who said that their periods were MUCH heavier after childbirth (I won't go into details).
After considering all the facts, I think I'll just PASS on the whole pregnancy/childbirth thing.
I always figured if I ever got the urge to raise a child, I could always adopt.

Me, too. It all just sounds so ICKY - it's mostly the excess bodily fluids that get to me. There seem to be so many of them! And the poo factor - that's something you don't ever hear about, isn't it?? BLECHHH! Plus just in general not wanting to share with the world that we've been having sex (since that *is* a common cause of pregnancy). Nope, overall, if I were inclined toward parenthood, adoption is definitely the way I'd go.

Childbirth isn't one of my top reasons for not having kids, but I would definitely be dreading it big time if I was pregnant. One of my friends described it as being like a really bad stomach flu. But I'm sure no description can accurately illustrate what it's like. So glad I will never find out.

I do think a lot of it is gross. And, I've also heard some guys are skeeved out by their wives once they've witnessed the whole graphic childbirth scene. And that makes sense to me.

I think the baby looks gross when it first comes out, too.

I feel the same as you. It is not my main reason, but I have a sensitive nature: my skin is allergic to the glue on Band-Aids and surgical tape, to Benzoid (which is that yellow stuff they prep you with when they cut you open to prevent infection before surgery); I severely react to anasthetics; am allergic to Penicillin, erythromycins, cephalosporin, etc.
I also suffer from mood swings

So the sensitivity thing also affects all my senses: smell, sight (light sensitive), sound (I hear silent alarms in jewellry stores, for example), etc. So the shrill screams of children, REALLY get to me.
I also have trouble sleeping, and if I don't get my eight hours, I have trouble concentrating and have little patience.

So imagine how I would be with a baby and children? Am I a good candidate for child-bearing/motherhood? LOL

Good for you Beth!!! I also work out about 5x per week and I wouldn't give up my personal trainer for anything. I dropped about 25 pounds and I am in the best shape of my life. I am addicted to it! Doing the whole baby thing would destroy all of that hard work and dedication because its never the same once you do it.

Noticed you are from Alabama too- I went to college at Birmingham-Southern :-)

Yep, I am losing weight. I've lost about 16 pounds I think. (about 8 kilos.)
And I do NOT want to put it ON again from having a baby!

I'm finally beginning to lose the weight I gained after a serious knee injury a few years ago. Now that I'm not carrying as much, the knee is bothering me less. I'll go back to limping for NOBODY (even hypothetical people)!

I can certainly relate to all this. I too have a very low pain threshold, and I also have frequent stomach problems. I couldn't imagine having stomach problems every single day for 9 months (I have a friend who is within a month of giving birth, and she still throws up all the time...no thanks!). It's just not worth it to me. I have a lot of chronic health issues that would only be made worse by pregnancy, and would probably not get better once I would have to raise a child.

And I've lost 22 pounds through a lot of very hard work. I wouldn't want to screw that up either. I've never felt healthier than I do right now, and I would never do anything to jeopardize it.

I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to me to read all of your posts in agreement about a distaste for pregnancy/childbirth. I always felt like I had no one to share my feelings with on this, b/c everyone always looked at me (I've been in good shape all my life b/c I was blessed with good genes in that department, as well as the fact that I have always been active and exercised regularly) and said "Oh, you'd probably bounce right back after you give birth." No one ever knows that for sure, no matter what kind of shape you're in before/during pregnancy. It causes changes that may not always be visible to other people, like the excess fluid issues you all mentioned, among other things.

By the way, congrats to all of you who are losing weight/getting into good shape.

I always thought I was being silly for saying that if I felt the need to parent a child (rather than our furry kids), adopting would be the way to go...thanks for making me feel better about the way I have felt for a long time!

Isn't it interesting to see how many of us are healthy, active and in great shape? I love it and I wouldn't trade it for the world. Also- am well on my way to getting the six pack abs...if only I could go bare mid-driff to work...sigh :-)

I frequently get the "you are too thin" comments at work even some "anorexic" comments even though I am just the right size for my frame! (mostly from very unhealthy people) So it is nice to come to a place where being healthy is valued.