Becoming a mother isn’t just about a change in lifestyle and having a new member to the family. It also leads to many physical and bodily changes and most of which is visible during pregnancy. This is the time of the major physical changes that your body will ever go through naturally.
During pregnancy your body secretes a hormone called the relaxin which helps in loosening your bones and muscles to encourage an easy delivery, but it also puts your body quite prone to the risk of injuries. Remember it is not just your buttocks or your belly that widens but many more physical changes show that the rest of your body is following the natural order of a healthy pregnancy. Belo given are 8 bodily changes that might seem weird but are actually very normal during pregnancy.
A Whole New Organ
It is not just another life that grows inside you when you are pregnant, added to it is also is a whole new organ known as the placenta that appears to have grown inside you. It is a transient organ and helps you with the development of the baby. It essentially protects your baby’s blood from that of your own by creating a porous barrier while transferring the essential nutrients from you to your baby and also getting rid of the waste of your baby’s body through yours. It also secretes a hormone that is not essential for maintaining the pregnancy but also preparing the mammary glands for nursing.
Your Bones Get Loose and Soft
A hormone called relaxin makes your bones soft and loose. It is just a natural process during your pregnancy that helps your body to be more flexible by the time you are ready to bring your little one in your life.
The only way to do so is to get rid of the rigidity of your bones so that labor is a lot easier. Just think about it, labor in itself is not a very painless experience but if you had your muscles, bones and ligaments tied up in a tight knot it would be even more painful and practically dangerous.
Increase in feet size
The loosening of muscles and bones results in a growth of larger feet. The pressure due to the loosening of your bones is released on your feet resulting in their enlargement and swelling.
Squished Bladder
It is inconvenient that during pregnancy your urge to pee almost doubles. You have a baby inside you growing larger and larger and it puts pressure on your bladder thus the need to take a leak more often than usual. It also means that even the tiniest activity involving pressure on your body like a sneeze or giggle can cause you to leak.
Tingly Hands
This is called the carpal tunnel syndrome and it makes your hands tingly or even numb because of the swelling in your body and all the extra pressure. The extra fluid which is responsible for your weight gain during pregnancy usually pools around your hands and feet due to gravity resulting in such sensations.
The Heart Grows, Like Literally
Your cardiovascular system is majorly affected during pregnancy. This is because your body during pregnancy needs to answer to the increased metabolic demands of both you and your little one growing inside you. Added to that is the fact that your blood volume increases almost 50% more than your natural level demanding your heart beating faster and more intensely. Words of warning, if you are a patient with heart condition, consult a doctor before planning to get pregnant.
With all these and many more odd changes to your body, remember it is a time to relax and enjoy. Motherhood might look exciting, but after the delivery you will be having your hands full and while it will be exciting and enjoyable, you might feel a little – let’s say – breathless.
