From the onset of the pregnancy to even after the child’s birth, a woman undergoes many radical physical, emotional and hormonal transformations. Some of these bodily changes are noticeable, such as a growing belly and weight gain, whereas, a few others are well known, such as morning sickness, backaches, enlarged uterus etc.
Pregnancy is undeniably one of the greatest highs in a woman’s life and arrives with its own share of challenges, as well. Keep yourself mentally prepared to face the situation. Once you do that, you won’t feel a bolt from the blue after you actually get pregnant!
Here are some usually noticeable changes in the body during pregnancy that you can expect!
Mood Swings:
Have you noticed yourself getting soppy more often than usual ever since you found out that you were pregnant? Rest easy, because it is absolutely normal. Besides, you are going to get a lot of mood swings all through your pregnancy increasing by the time you deliver. At times, the mood swings continue even beyond delivery. Mood swings are not new to women; they experience them whenever they have their cycles.
You will be on a seesaw ride with emotions with the flow of hormones; rest assured, being an emotional wreck is part of the job.
Weight Gain:
Pregnancy is a time when women gain the utmost weight to accommodate the baby. But it can be a big blow to your self-esteem. Add to that the wild hormones and you finish off feeling sad and dejected. A good and caring atmosphere makes sure that the storybook pregnancy glow comes from within.
Sore Breasts:
They appear sore, swollen, tingly, and unusually sensitive to touch or even painful, thanks to increased sensitivity. Heightened sensitivity can sometimes make you anxious and uncomfortable.
Morning sickness:
Here comes the stomach-churning morning sickness as if being an emotional wreck was not enough….Many even end up vomiting usually despite the remedies in place. This happens in the first trimester when many women feel like they are on a three-month-long hangover! Dr Marjorie Greenfield, ob-gyn and author of ‘The Working Woman’s Pregnancy Book’ states that roughly 70 per cent of women experience nausea early in pregnancy and about 50 per cent experience vomiting.
Fluid Retention:
The body starts retaining more fluids during pregnancy, particularly in the later stages and it affects nearly 65 per cent of mums to be. Normal swelling, which is also called oedema, is experienced in the face, legs, hands, and feet. Drink a lot of water as it helps you to flush the salt out. Fluid retention needs the doctor’s attention so make sure you have appropriate follow-ups with your physician.
Overactive Bladder:
Urinary incontinence during pregnancy is very common. The baby’s head may be pushing down on the mother’s bladder, causing scrambled nerve signals and muscle weakness that contribute to incontinence and overactive bladder. But, certainly, you have to drink loads of water since it is crucial as you need the power to flush the toxins out of your body.
Bowel Movements:
Constipation is also one of the common body changes in pregnancy as hormones can slow the digestive system down. The best way to avoid this is by taking iron-rich foods (rather than iron supplements) like apples, bananas, and veggies like beans, peas, spinach or any Dark, leafy greens.
Acid Reflux/Indigestion:
Pregnancy-related Heartburn or acid reflux and indigestion plague most moms during pregnancy. This can be caused by the baby growing in the womb that gets your organs squished up trying to make its space and also by the hormonal changes. This makes you a strong burning sensation in the chest and can be extremely uncomfortable after eating because of this forced restriction. The best solution is to eat less but more often a sensible diet, eliminating trigger foods and focusing on fluids will stave off the heartburn in the term.
Weird Body Changes that May or may not Happen During Pregnancy (but, they are totally Normal)
Light sensitivity:
Expanding belly isn’t the only physical change you’ll undergo during your pregnancy. Your eyes may experience dryness, and vision problems and are more sensitive to brightness, particularly from the sun, so don’t forget to bring sunglasses outside (or even in an especially sunlit spot indoors) to evade discomfort.
Hair breakage:
Changes in the length, texture and speed of growth of hair are experienced differently by pregnant women. Due to changes in the hair’s texture as well as pregnancy hormone-caused dryness, split ends and other types of hair breakage are often more prevalent during pregnancy which weakens the hair shaft.
Loss of smell:
If you’re turning green at even the faintest pong (hyperosmia), you will perhaps be envious of baby mamas with anosmia, which is a total loss of smell. Anosmia can be genetic or caused by a trauma to the nose, but this is a temporary condition that can also appear out of the blue when you’re pregnant and generally goes away shortly after giving birth.
Blue private parts:
If your nether region seems a bit blue (in colour, of course, not emotionally), you’re not imagining things. In olden days, medical practitioners used to declare a baby on board based on a blue or purple tint in the women’s Vagina, cervix and labia, a condition known as Chadwick’s sign. Thanks to all the hormonal shifts and extra blood flow, women’s vagina is also not excluded. Don’t worry, the vagina will eventually return to its original colour after delivery…This is the reason for celebration, not concern!
See-through skin:
You might suffer some physical discomfort such as itching as the skin around the breasts is stretching so quickly. If you find these entire things disturbing, join the club — and keep in mind that it’s for a good cause: your baby’s nourishment.
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