Pregnancy surely is a fascinating and exciting journey in a woman’s life. One thing is certain, the joy of giving birth to a baby is often an incomparable feeling for many women. Right from taking the first pregnancy test to feeling your baby’s kicks, there are so many changes that take place in a woman’s body. That being said, there are also a lot of unique challenges that a woman needs to overcome, right from understanding the strange symptoms to knowing what changes are coming. Let us take you through some of the surprising things about pregnancy you may not have known.
1. ‘Morning Sickness’ May Not Happen Only In The Mornings
Feeling nauseous is one of the common symptoms of pregnancy. Moving ahead, during the first four months of pregnancy, many women experience morning sickness. But wait, don’t go by the name of the term; despite the name, it can be experienced anytime during the day. The most common symptoms that you can experience are nausea and occasional vomiting. There is no one cause that can be associated with morning sickness. Also, the severity may differ in all women. It can happen because of increased hormone levels during pregnancy, reduced blood sugar, and sometimes stress!
Don’t panic, since morning sickness is a common thing that almost all pregnant women experience. There are several preventive measures you can take to minimize your morning sickness. One of these is hydrating your body by drinking plenty of water before and after meals. Another important thing you need to be mindful of is ventilating your home and workspace to get rid of all kinds of smells that can make you nauseous.
Keeping yourself hydrated can help you cope with nausea.
You might feel tempted to switch to other alternatives like medications to stop your morning sickness. We advise you to first consult your doctor before taking any medicines. Also, if your morning sickness prolongs beyond the first 3 or 4 months of pregnancy, see to it that you bring it to your doctor’s notice.
2. The Size Of Your Heart Gets Bigger In Length And Width
You’ll be surprised to know that the walls of your ventricles get thicker during pregnancy. That’s because all the parts of your body need an increased supply of oxygenated blood. The blood supply needs to reach the uterus and so the heart of a pregnant woman increases in size to fulfill this need.
An interesting thing to note is that the blood volume in a pregnant woman’s body can increase up to 40 to 50%. This can assure you of a healthy pregnancy. During the time of labor, this blood volume can have an additional increase of around 30%. It can take around 6 weeks after pregnancy for this cardiac output to decrease slowly.
3. The Digestion Of A Woman Slows Down During Pregnancy
It’s a known fact to all that pregnancy hormones can cause several changes in the digestive system. If you’re already pregnant, you can probably relate to this. One of these changes is a slower pace of digestion. The slowing down of digestion in your stomach and intestines is caused by the hormone ‘progesterone.’ That’s the reason why pregnant women experience digestive discomforts like nausea, vomiting, constipation and heartburn.
During pregnancy, your uterus grows and that can block parts of your digestive tract. Naturally, the movement of your food slows down and you may suffer from constipation problems. All the essential nutrients from your food are first fed to your baby and then the remaining nutrients are absorbed by your body. One of the related surprising things about pregnancy is that some women tend to have a craving for non-food items like chalk, coal, starch, etc. If you’re wondering the reason for such a craving, it’s actually because of an iron deficiency in the body.
4. Pregnant Women May Find It Difficult To Breathe
Shortness of breath is absolutely normal during pregnancy. The first few weeks of your pregnancy see an increase in the progesterone hormone. It is responsible for carrying more oxygen to your baby by expanding your lung capacity, and this can cause shortness of breath.
Another reason for pregnant women finding it difficult to breathe is because of the growing uterus. During the 31st or 34th week of your pregnancy, your diaphragm can get pressed because of the expanded uterus. Naturally, it’ll be difficult for your lungs to completely expand. This can make you feel short of breath, and you may have to relax and rest more often than usual.
The shortness of breath you feel may make you want to rest more.
Having said that, your baby settles in your pelvic region during the last weeks of your pregnancy. So, the shortness of breath is less experienced towards the end of pregnancy. In case you feel severe breathlessness, we advise you to consult your doctor about the same.
5. Several Major & Minor Bodily Changes Happen During Pregnancy
The expansion of your uterus is not the only change that takes place in a woman’s body during pregnancy. But without a doubt, one of the most surprising things about pregnancy is the sheer number of big and small changes a woman’s body undergoes! For instance, your voice changes because of the increased progesterone levels in your body. Apart from that, there’s another hormone in your body called relaxin which is produced during pregnancy. It helps to soften your ligaments so that your pelvis is more flexible during labor.
Women also experience a heightened sense of smell during pregnancy. Any overwhelming or unpleasant smell can make you nauseous or cause vomiting. This is caused by the pregnancy hormones in your body. You can surround yourself with pleasant smells to distract your nose. Otherwise, keeping your clothes and surroundings clean can help you soothe your nausea.
A strange change that is also one of the surprising things about pregnancy is that your hair can become thicker and grow faster. Again, the increased levels of estrogen in your body are responsible for the increase in hair growth. You may experience hair growth in unwanted places like your abdomen, face and back.
Conclusion
Pregnancy surely can bring about many unexpected surprises inside your body. As exciting and overwhelming it may seem, many mothers consider it to be a golden period in their lives. And if it’s your first time having a baby, it’s going to be a mysterious and fascinating experience for you. There are several pregnancy books for first-timers that can help you in your journey of bringing a new life into this world. There are also several apps you can make use of to help you with parenting, like the ImmunifyMe app! It can help with vaccination appointments, telemedicine consultations, and more.
FAQs On Surprising Things About Pregnancy
What Is The Most Interesting Fact About Pregnancy?
One of the most interesting facts about pregnancy is the expanding size of the uterus. Before pregnancy, it is around the size of a lemon. But after a woman gets pregnant, it expands to the size of a watermelon, i.e almost 500 times its actual size.
What Are The Three Things That Are Not Okay To Do To A Pregnant Woman?
Smoking, drinking alcohol, and taking too much caffeine are three things that women should avoid during their pregnancy.
Do Babies Pee In The Womb?
Yes, babies can urinate inside your womb. This active urination goes into overdrive when their kidneys have formed especially between the 13th to the 16th week of your pregnancy.
When Do You Start Showing?
Your baby bump starts showing between the 12th or 16th week of your pregnancy, i.e the second trimester. If you’re a person with more weight, your baby bump will be visible in the 16th week. However, women having lower weight can start showing signs of a baby bump in the 12th week of pregnancy.