throe

To suffer from or struggle with something. I'm sorry I never called you back, I've been in the throes of illness for days. After being in the throes of decline for months, the economy is finally starting to recover.

to be experiencing a very difficult or unpleasant period The country is presently in the throes of the worst recession since the second world war. We're in the throes of moving house at the moment.

In the midst of, especially of a difficult struggle. For example, The country was in the throes of economic collapse, or We were in the throes of giving a formal dinner when my in-laws arrived. The noun throe, meaning "a severe pang or spasm of pain," was at first used mainly for such physical events as childbirth or dying. Today it is used both seriously (first example) and more lightly (second example). [Mid-1800s]