How Your Body Changes During Pregnancy

During pregnancy your body will be victim to changes, whether they are lots or little, it’ll never quite be the same again. After a discussion with a very good friend of mine (who is pregnant) we chatted about all the changes we notice about ourselves once we became pregnant.

1. A weak bladder

Whilst I was pregnant with my first I noticed an increasing urgency when I need to go. It came out of nowhere and i’d need to be straight on the loo to avoid any leakage. One evening I was sitting on my partners lap (whilst we were visiting his parents), I sneezed and pissed all over poor Mr F. I was horrified, but I also found it hilarious and the more I laughed… Oh, what an evening.

2. Body softening

When I was pregnant I ate everything. If it was edible it’d be demolished within seconds. This of course meant everything became a little softer and a lot bigger. This could have been quite dangerous, gaining too much weight can lead to health problems during pregnancy for you and your baby. Although hunger is a big side-effect of pregnancy, if I could go back, I’d slap every custard slice out of my hands before it reached my mouth.

3.Stretch marks

Stretch marks took over my body at around 20 weeks. They covered my thighs, my stomach, my chest and my arms. They’re not all noticeable, only on my stomach. They started on my ‘love-handles’ like tyre-tracks and eventually worked there way across the surface of my bump, like a web of red lines. Some people are lucky enough to not have one stretch mark. Heat, scratching, moisturising and growth all inputs towards possible stretch-marks.

4. Swelling

This usually happens in the later months of pregnancy, but can occasionally happen earlier. Your body retains much more water which can make you look a bit ‘puffier’ than normal. It’s not just the whole pack of biscuits you may have secretly scoffed. Swelling is usually noticed in your face and ankles. This can sometimes be a sign of health problems, so it’s always worth a mention to you midwife.

5. Tender breasts

Not only will your boobs double in size, but they will become increasingly sensitive. This can be noticed from very early on. This was actually the tell-tale sign of my very good friends pregnancy at only 3 weeks along! Putting clothes on, showering or knocking them all become slightly (incredibly) painful.

6. Aches and pains

As your bump starts to grow it puts more pressure on all of your body, to also accommodate your growing baby. When you’re a regular walker, this can cause your muscles to ache and can also cause pelvic girdle pain (PGP). The best way to describe PGP is almost like an internal scratch in your groin, or a stabbing pain in intense circumstances. You can feel pains all over your body, some where your joints are softening for the impending birth and some may even be Braxton hicks.

7. Constipation

The best way to cope with constipation is eating plenty of foods with fibre, exercising and drinking lots of water. If it gets quite painful you can be prescribed a drink that can help ease the pain.

8. Sickness

You could be the healthiest person around but ‘morning sickness’ can appear in any pregnant womans life. I’m afraid to say, it’s also not just in the ‘morning’, the saying is very deceiving, since ‘morning sickness’ can in-fact strike at any time, sometimes all day. The best way to survive sickness is to eat what you can, when you can, along with drinking plenty of water.

9. Hair

Whist pregnant your hair can either thicken up and you will be amazed at your lovely locks. Or, your hair will fall out, not so much that you will notice severely (unless in extreme cases), you will just be clogging up the shower drain for the length of pregnancy (and beyond). In my case, my hair grew fairly quicker than normal and I stopped finding stray hairs in the drain, on my hair brush or on my clothes. My hair became thick, then, the moment I gave birth (both times) I started shedding like a cat in summer. It was quite frightening, the rate at which my hair was coming out and it continued to do so for months after I gave birth. My hair thinned slightly in this time and thankfully didn’t affect much of the thickness.

These are my Top 9. Pregnancy can do plenty more to your body, such as varicose veins and odd darkening’s of the skin. The side-effects aren’t always common and the positives of pregnancy far outweigh the negatives. I was blessed with two very easy pregnancies (all things considered). However, some people have a hard time coping, this doesn’t tarnish the prize at the end. It’s always worth every bit of struggle, for that first breath of your precious newborn.