Rebecca's Story

It all started when I was pregnant with my first child. I was looking forward to continuing work as a midwife through my pregnancy and combining motherhood and a part-time career. However, I found I needed to reduce my working as I was having difficulty walking and managing around the house when my pregnancy progressed past 6 months. I recovered about 2 years postnatally from the pain in my pelvis with a lot of physiotherapy, medical and family support.

However, it wasn’t until my 2nd pregnancy when I found out how severely women can be affected by Pelvic Instability (or Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction). After enjoying sports and outdoor activities for a short while between pregnancies, I was shocked and horrified when I started to limp 12 weeks into my pregnancy. I needed a walking frame at 18 weeks and a wheelchair at 24 weeks. I spent 5 months in a wheelchair and required intensive physiotherapy and rehabilitation for a year postnatally. I couldn’t walk, care for myself, care for my baby or four year old child alone. I needed disability aids, home-help and a tremendous amount of family support. Fortunately, I can now say that I have made a complete recovery.

When I couldn’t walk in my 2nd pregnancy I tried to find out if support services existed for women with Pelvic Instability in Australia. I discovered no support group existed, nor did many professionals even know about the condition. I became determined to raise awareness of this under-recognized women’s health issue and to make life easier for future suffering women. I made contact with overseas Pelvic Instability support groups, read countless research papers and discussed the problem with health professionals in the field. Thus, the Pelvic Instability Association (PIA) was created (we celebrated our 4th birthday in November 2007).

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This site was last modified on 14/09/2008