Even before I found out I was pregnant the pain in my hips was the focus of my physiotherapy which I attribute to my son getting stuck during labour and requiring a forceps delivery. Naturally, I was apprehensive about hip pain in pregnancy being a problem this time and, unsurprisingly, I was right to be concerned.

When I found out I was pregnant at 5 weeks I was halfway through a course of hydrotherapy to help with my Fibromyalgia. When I told the physiotherapy team about my pregnancy they decided that the hydrotherapy pool at the hospital was too warm for it to be safe for me to use and I wouldn’t be able to complete my course. I was absolutely gutted, the pain relief afforded to me by being in that pool was incredible. When they turned me away I almost cried.

My early signs of hip pain in pregnancy

As my normal fibromyalgia flares turned into sharper twinges I realised I needed to get back into the water. I knew I wouldn’t be able to maintain any level of fitness on land. Having spent several years saying I should join a gym whilst also avoiding actually signing up, I finally took the plunge. One morning, when I was feeling particularly stiff and grumpy I packed my swimming gear and hit the local gym after dropping my son at nursery. I signed up for a swim only membership there and then and it has saved me from a whole world of pain since.

Keep on moving!

I have been swimming three days a week after the nursery run for four months now. At one point I got up to 40 lengths of the pool and I was feeling really fit. Since the baby decided to move into my lung space I can only manage 20 but it’s not the lengths that are important. Being in the swimming pool takes the pressure off of my hips and… well, all of my joints really. The weightlessness of being in the water is bliss in itself, but what it enables me to do is move. I can keep my mobility up without wearing myself out and causing further pain. I missed a swim due to illness and by the next day I was unable to walk more than a few feet – I fully believe I would be on crutches by now if I wasn’t still swimming regularly.

This ability to move about was missing in my first pregnancy, so my health suffered. I gained a lot of weight last time which I think I have been able to avoid this time… I suppose we will find out how effective it has been in a couple of months!

Comradery

As my pregnancy progresses I am slowing down somewhat but there is an amazing level of support from the other “slow lane” users at the pool. When I started this I was not expecting to make friends but I have. The support from these strangers means I know I will be able to continue to use the pool until the end of pregnancy… even if I can only wander about in the shallow end in a few weeks.

Update: I continued to swim sporadically because of the school summer holidays. My last pregnancy swim was 38 (frustrated) lengths the night before my daughter arrived at 41+3.

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20 weeks pregnant – half way there!