It is a known fact that pregnant women receive plenty of advice, some solicited and some unsolicited. Mothers, aunts and other relatives share their experience with their daughters to prepare them for the 9 month tenure and the delivery, but there are some things we bet you still don’t know.
Brace yourself! Here we list some super weird things about pregnancy that will blow your mind.
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- Your bones are the weakest during pregnancy: Every month a women’s body releases a hormone called ‘relaxin’. The production of relaxin declines in the absence of pregnancy. But as soon as you conceive, the production of relaxin also increases. This hormone softens the joints and ligaments to prepare your body for child birth, making your bones fragile and accident prone. Hence, just ensure that you do not trip, at all!
- Your heart grows bigger, literally!: During pregnancy the volume of blood in the woman’s body increases rapidly to maintain the baby’s and the mother’s health. Increase in blood volume also helps to reduce the blood loss, of the mother, during delivery. Increased blood volume causes the mother’s heart to enlarge and shift slightly more towards the left. Plus, a mother’s heart is always larger, right?
- You are not the one only pregnant!: Ever heard of Couvade Syndrome? According to studies pregnancy can have certain affect on the husband as well. Just like you, your partner or husband may also experience morning sickness, weight gain and disturbed sleep pattern. This is also known as Sympathetic Pregnancy and is common among couples who live together and are expecting a baby. Read more about it here
- Your child is your savior: The food you eat during your pregnancy not only nourishes you but it also provides ample strength to your baby. If during pregnancy the mother suffers organ damage. The fetus sends stem cells to repair the said damage. Hence keeping you out of harm’s way
- Your cravings may get crazier: It is a well known fact that pregnant women have strong cravings. They may even crave food they disliked otherwise but did you know that some pregnant women may also crave non edible things like dust, chalk or even paper! This is known as the Pica syndrome and can be found among 3 out of 10 pregnant women. Read more about top pregnancy cravings here
- Behold! You have a new organ!: During pregnancy your body develops a new organ known as the placenta. Placenta clears your baby’s blood stream of waste products and it also aids in providing nutrients and oxygen to the fetus. Another interesting fact about placenta is that most mammals eat their own placenta after delivery since it provides the mother with nutrition
- Delayed delivery? Time to get busy: An off the charts way of inducing labor is nipple stimulation. This process is also known as the comfort technique. Nipple stimulation can cause orgasms and some specialists believe that orgasms induce contractions and send you into labor
- Your baby’s fingerprints are formed in the womb: Yes, your baby forms her unique finger prints just when you cross the first trimester, that is, within the first 3 months
- You may get pregnant while you are already pregnant: It may not be very common but it is true nonetheless. Sex during pregnancy without any contraceptive can lead to double pregnancy. A woman in Arkansas, USA got pregnant while already carrying a baby and had two different due dates
- You baby is more active than you think: You may think that your baby is inactive and meek while still in the womb. Let us break the bubble for you. Your baby is quite active and does a number of things like crying, holding hands, sucking the thumbs and even masturbating while still in the womb. In the second half of pregnancy, a baby drinks starts to urinate about a litre and drink the same
- Your baby also eats what you eat: A mother influences a child in ways more ways than one. While still in the womb the baby develops preferences based on his mother’s. If an expecting mother partakes and enjoys a particular food it is very likely that the child may be more inclined towards that kind of food when he grows up
- You will be blessed with an acute sense of smell: During pregnancy, women experience a heightened sense of smell. This is one reason women experience morning sickness. This heightened sense of smell does not help your cravings either. Beware! You might be able to smell that freshly baked cake or steaming hot gajar ka halwa even from a distance
- Your uterus will stretch 500 times than its normal size: Uterus is the womb that holds the baby throughout the pregnancy. It is usually the size of an apple but when a woman conceives a child the uterus enlarges to accommodate the growing baby. It is believed that the uterus grows up to 500 times than its original size!
There are like a million things about pregnancy, that you may not find in books. That is why pregnancy is a unique experience, and one that is strange yet loving.
