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Posted on 10 May, 202410 May, 2024 by /karen/

Everything I know about SPD

Hi, my name is Karen. I am currently 24 weeks pregnant and I suffer from SPD, otherwise known as "Symphysis Pubic Dysfunction".

I made this comic back in 2013 when I was pregnant with my second child.

I put it up on my old blog. As it didn’t make it to my new blog, I thought I would repost it here.

(Use the arrows below to navigate through the panels.)

  • Comic title: Everything I know about SPD (Symphysis pubic dysfunction)
  • Written and drawn by Karen Beilharz, November 2013.
  • Hi, my name is Karen. I am currently 24 weeks pregnant and I suffer from SPD, otherwise known as "Symphysis Pubic Dysfunction".
  • But "Symphysis Pubic Dysfunction" sounds rude, so I usually refer to my condition as "PGP" (short for "Pelvic Girdle Pain")—which is similar but not quite it.
  • Since most people don't really understand what SPD is, I thought I would create this comic to explain. Cartoon Karen: It's not back pain!
  • SPD is caused by the hormone relaxin, which your body starts releasing in your 10th week of pregnancy. It affects one in four pregnant women. Relaxin hormone: *Flies in through a door* Wheee!!!
  • The purpose of relaxin is to loosen up all your joints and ligaments in preparation for labour. Relaxin hormone: *Flies around pelvis* Chill out, dudes!
  • Unfortunately this causes problems in some pregnant women, with joints and ligaments becoming too loose and therefore unstable and painful. Cartoon Karen to a bystander after her body makes a "Click!" noise: Sorry, that was my hip.
  • Because I'm Asian, apparently my joints are more likely to be hypermobile Hypermobile joints mean I am more susceptible to SPD. Cartoon Karen waving her arms a lot: "Hypermobile" doesn't mean what I think it means.
  • If you get SPD the first time you're pregnant, you're highly likely to get it again during subsequent pregnancies. Cartoon Karen holds her pregnant belly and thinks: Great ...
  • This means I have to do the following: 1. I have to wear this belt around my pelvis pretty much ALL THE TIME because it keeps me together and helps minimise the pain. I think it's made of the strongest Velcro known to man. Because it tends to chafe, I wear a belly band underneath it.
  • 2. I have to keep my knees together when doing things like rolling over, getting in and out of bed and getting in and out of the car. Cartoon Karen trying to get out of bed, thinks: Ouch!
  • (The worst one is rolling over: I tend to wake up every time I have to do it, which means I don't sleep very well. Cartoon Karen lying in bed next to sleeping Ben, bleary-eyed. The clock says 3:00 AM. She thinks: Why am I awake? Oh that's right, my ear feels squashed and my arm has gone to sleep.
  • 3. I have to sit down to do stuff like getting dressed and putting on my shoes. Cartoon Karen sits on a chair and tries to put on her shoes.
  • 4. I have to walk using little steps. (Footprints close together in the sand.)
  • (Now that I'm 24 weeks, I don't so much as walk as "waddle". Like a penguin.) Cartoon Karen waddles in a literal penguin suit.
  • 5. I have to take stairs one at a time. (Needless to say, I am now VERY SLOW.) Cartoon Karen goes up stairs.
  • 6. I have to avoid lifting anything heavy or pushing things like shopping trolleys (or prams). Toddler daughter reaches out hands towards Cartoon Karen: Mummy! Carry! Carry! Cartoon Karen thinks: Sigh.
  • 7. I have to do all my physio exercises--every day, if possible. (The pain helps me to remember to do them.) Cartoon Karen lies on a bed and tries to stretch her glutes.
  • 8. My husband has to do physio-mandated massage on me almost every single night after applying a heat pack for 10 minutes (which is going to be fun at the height of the Australian summer!) This is not the nice kind of massage; it really hurts! Cartoon Ben massages Cartoon Karen as she lies on their bed. Cartoon Karen: *thinks* Ouch!
  • 9. I have to avoid standing up for too long, walking too far, running, jumping, and so on. Toddler daughter: Mummy! Let's play chasings! Cartoon Karen thinks: Um ...
  • Note that none of these things actually help resolve the pain: things won't get better for me until possibly after the birth.
  • However, it takes a total of six periods for the relaxin to leave your body completely. (Note that often your periods don't come back for a while following birth.) Calendar showing March.
  • It's not all bad, though. Having SPD means I qualify for a mobility parking pass, which means I get all sorts of awesome parking privileges. Cartoon Karen standing beside her car parked in a 2-hour spot: Yes! All-day park!
  • It's also forced me to slow down and rest more--something I am not naturally good at. Cartoon Karen lounges on the couch, watching TV.
  • Having chronic pain helps me understand what it's like for others who have it. But whereas I only have to put up with it for a short while, for some people, pain is their life. Cartoon Karen chats to a bed-bound friend on the phone.
  • It could be worse: at least I am still able to walk. Friends of mine who also suffered from SPD ended up on crutches or in wheelchairs. (Fortunately they are all mobile again.) Friend sitting in her wheelchair.
  • And thankfully it's not forever; it's just for now. Hopefully having a brand new baby will make all this pain totally worth it. Cartoon Karen sits up in hospital bed with a new baby in her arms and her family around her.
  • (That said, SPD is the reason why this will probably be our last child; I don't think I can do this again.)
Category: /Karen/
Tags: comics, disability, pregnancy, spd

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