Savage Reality Of Pregnancy That Isn't Shown On TV, As Shared By Women On Reddit

When it comes to pregnancy and childbirth, TV shows often present a much rosier picture than what women experience in reality. Pregnant women are depicted as glowing and happy, with no morning sickness or other discomforts.

Childbirth is always portrayed as easy, with the mother smiling and cooing throughout the entire process. In reality, however, pregnancy can be a challenging time.

Many women experience morning sickness, fatigue, and various discomforts. Childbirth can be difficult and painful, with mothers often feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.

TV shows rarely depict the realities of pregnancy and childbirth, which can lead to unrealistic expectations among viewers. If you think about it, there is a human growing inside a woman's body.

At a certain stage of development, the baby will start to move around in the mother's womb. The baby will kick to let their parents know that they are alive and well.

But the reality is that it's not all about happiness. Uncertainties and struggles are part of pregnancy.

There's fatigue, and a woman feels more tired than usual when she is carrying a baby in her womb. It also involves discomforts such as backaches, butt aches, and nausea.

Even after giving birth, there will be another set of challenges. Among the most common is postpartum depression.

Today, we're looking at the real-life experiences of mothers who shared their stories on a Reddit thread. After reading them, you'll likely have a different perception of pregnancy.

It's different for every mom, and it's completely okay.

In movies, they always show mothers with huge grins on their faces when they first see their baby. In real life, new mothers aren’t always head over heels to meet their baby. Not everyone feels like it’s the happiest they’ve ever been in their life.u/MissInfer, Büşranur Aydın

Some body changes can affect a woman's lifestyle.

They never show how much pregnancy messes with your body. You can lose your hair and develop gestational diabetes.u/anon-nsfw-504, Nataliya Vaitkevich

Then there's also anxiety after the baby is born.

They never show how you can experience depression and anxiety even before the baby is born.Ahnamal, Luis Galvez

Women can no longer consume what they used to consume before.

They never discuss how you can develop food intolerances. After my second pregnancy, I became lactose intolerant. After my third, I became wheat intolerant.idgaf-about-a-name, Pixabay

It takes practice for both and patience for the mother.

They never show how hard breastfeeding can be for some women. It’s not always as easy as simply putting the baby on the breast after delivery. It is a real skill that can be difficult to learn and doesn’t always work for everyone, despite best intentions.DrVerryBerry, RODNAE Productions

Misdiagnosis is a thing in pregnancy too.

They never show how dismissive doctors can impact you. A few weeks after my first birth, I started hemorrhaging. The doctor told me that I must’ve forgotten what a period was. After conducting an actual examination, he said, ‘Oh, I guess you weren’t lying,’ and I ended up needing emergency surgery.Ok_Individual9340, Gustavo Fring

The disappearance of the bump is slow and gradual.

In movies, they always show that the bump goes away right after birth. It doesn’t. It can take days, weeks, or even months for the bump to disappear, and the majority of women have loose skin and stretch marks afterward.loalenatrice, Jonathan Borba

Movies don't show one of the worst effects of pregnancy on the body.

In movies, they show morning sickness, cravings, back pain, and waddling. They never depict the pregnant character with the worst acne of her life or the one who can barely walk because her pelvis is literally splitting into thirds.Cdmelty1, Pixabay

Anything that isn't aesthetically pleasing won't be shown on TV or in movies.

They never show how you can experience receding gums and rotting teeth from pregnancy.budgetbears, Pavel Danilyuk

Nope, they don't.

They never talk about the permanent changes we experience. When I was pregnant, I had to go up a shoe size and start wearing glasses.Pixabay

You can't decide what to do with your body after the birth of your child.

They never show how clinical giving birth can be. My first birth was in a hospital where they treated me like I was a horribly sick person. I was not allowed out of my bed, I wasn’t allowed food or drink, and I wasn’t permitted any birthing tools, like a bouncing ball.DumpsterFire0119, Jonathan Borba

No movie shows how much worse backaches can be.

They never really depict the horrible back pain. My sister had one hip stuck about three inches higher than the other and a herniated disk during her pregnancy.TurbulentArea69, Bella The Brave

You get sleepy out of the blue and you can't fight it.

They never show the fatigue you experience. Pregnant women in movies have non-pregnant levels of energy. It’s pretty common to feel completely exhausted for all nine months. Growing a human is tiring.kinkyspidersex, Vlada Karpovich

Even simple colds can be greatly bothersome.

They never show what it’s like to deal with something as simple as a common cold. I caught a cold when I was about eight months along, and my cough caused me to crack two ribs. Nothing like having your baby kicking your cracked ribs while you’re violently coughing.BitterPillPusher2, Matilda Wormwood

In general, you gain weight. And you probably won't get your old body back.

They always show pregnant women gaining weight in their perfectly round bellies. In real life, you gain weight in most other places too.allworkandnoYahtzee, SHVETS production

Miscarriages don't just bring emotional pain.

They never show how physically painful early-term miscarriages are. They only depict the emotional pain. When it happened to me, it felt like I was having the worst cramps of my life for a month straight.Reddit, Claire Kelly

We'll never see mothers in movies wearing adult diapers.

They never show the unglamorous things we experience after birth. I had to wear adult diapers for several weeks. Even now, if I sneeze hard or laugh too much, I might pee my pants.cuckedprincess, FotoDuets

One of the nightmares after childbirth

They never show what it’s like to go to the bathroom after giving birth. Pooping for the first time after having the baby was probably the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced.PlumbusFungus, Terry Magallanes

You only see one side of the coin in movies.

They rarely show postpartum depression. Movies will document everything, but they’ll skip over that part for a happy ending. It gives a false sense of reality that motherhood can only take a toll on your body and not on your mind.Pretty_Princess90210, Pixabay

Some women don't even know they're in labor.

In movies, pregnant people only need one contraction to know they’re going into labor. That’s not how it always works. My water broke with my second child, and it still took me about two hours to be convinced that it was actually my water.Ok_Individual9340, cottonbro

There's so much more to pregnancy than what you see on TV and in movies.

You see the bliss in the actors' eyes after they have a baby in the movie or TV show. But the truth is, the hurdles of pregnancy and childbirth are just downright overwhelming.

You may forever remember how hard the challenges are after you've gone through them. But it's all worth it when you see your child growing healthily.