ECP

Evil Crotch Pain has a real name! It's officially called Symphysis pubis dysfunction, or SPD. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about it:

"Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) is most commonly associated with pregnancy and childbirth. It is a condition that causes excessive movement of the pubis symphysis, either anterior or lateral, as well as associated pain, possibly because of a misalignment of the pelvis. SPD is a dysfunction that is associated with pelvic girdle pain and the names are often used interchangeably. It is thought to affect up to one in four pregnant women to varying degrees, with 7% of sufferers continuing to experience serious symptoms postpartum. Although the condition was recognized by Hippocrates, incidences of SPD appear to have increased in recent years; it is unclear whether this is because the average maternal age is increasing, or because the condition is being diagnosed more frequently.

Symptoms

The main symptom is usually pain or discomfort in the pelvic region. This will probably be centered on the joint at the front of the pelvis (the pubic symphysis). Some sufferers report being able to hear the lower back and hip joints, the sacroiliac, clicking or popping in and out as they walk or change position. Sufferers frequently also experience pain in the lower back, hips, groin, lower abdomen, and legs. The severity of the pain can range from mild discomfort to extreme and prolonged suffering. There have been links between SPD and depression on account of the associated physical discomfort. Sufferers may walk with a characteristic waddling gait and have difficulty climbing stairs, problems with leg abduction and adduction, pain when carrying out weight bearing activities, difficulties carrying out everyday activities, and difficulties standing.

Everyday living

Typical advice usually given to women includes avoiding strenuous exercise, prolonged standing, vacuum cleaning, stretching exercises and squatting. Women are also frequently advised to:

• Rest the pelvis
• Sit down for tasks where possible (e.g. preparing food, ironing, dressing)
• Avoid lifting and carrying.
• Avoid stepping over things.
• Avoid straddle movements especially when weight bearing.
• Bend the knees and keep the legs 'glued together' when turning in bed and getting in and out of bed.
• Place a pillow between the legs when in bed or resting.
• Avoid twisting movements of the body.

If the pain is very severe, using elbow crutches will help take the weight off the pelvis and assist with mobility. Alternatively, for more extreme cases a wheelchair may be considered advisable."

Now, mine isn't severe enough to require crutches or a wheelchair, or even stopping vacuuming. But it does hurt to do pretty much everything, to some extent. Some days are better than others. When I try to explain it to people, they just think that I'm being a drama queen because pregnancy is uncomfortable in general. And a lot of women do get ECP, but it's almost always only in the 3rd trimester when their babies get big. So those women tend to roll their eyes when I talk about it. But mine started in the tenth week, way back when my baby was no bigger than a walnut. I started waddling and groaning whenever I lifted my legs to take my shoes off around week 14. I have accepted that this is "normal" for me in this pregnancy though. I don't hold any bitterness that I've had to deal with ECP for a lot longer than most women do, although it does suck and I wish I didn't have it. But there are other things I could have that are worse than ECP, so I'll deal.

But in the end, I remind myself of what's important... having a baby, period. I still treasure (almost) every part of pregnancy, knowing the whole time that this might be my only one. And if part of pregnancy includes minor pain every day, so be it. It's all about perspective.