‘It’s fun being pregnant!!!’ they said…. 10 Pregnancy side effects you might not know about:
1.You May Have Sore Boobs:
One of the first pregnancy symptoms that many women experience is sore boobs. Essentially your body sends a memo upstairs saying, “the eagle has landed” and your breasts turn to each other and say, “This is what we’ve been training for, man! It’s show time!” Then they flip the switch and start getting ready for milk production. Extra blood flow, fat production and hormones all make for tender tatas especially in the first few weeks.
2. You May Have Extra Spit:
File this one under pregnancy side effects that we can’t fully explain.
We do know it seems to affect quite a few women during pregnancy. Hormones seem to be blamed for the cause because it’s the go to reason for most things during pregnancy. Nausea also is a plausible reason as well because extra saliva is typically the body’s warning mechanism to tell you to get ready to barf.
Unless of course you’re not actually pregnant in which case both rabies and dementia can cause excess saliva. So, you know, check that out, just incase.
3. You May Be Constipated:
You have extra progesterone pumping through you right now and it’s pretty important – hence the name that means “pro gestating” – because it relaxes your uterus muscles so you don’t have early contractions (just to name one of its important jobs). The downside is that it helps relax all your muscles so you get constipated easily.
Move more, drink water, eat small meals and increase your fiber intake seems to be the suggested course of action. Here are some remedies and meds that may help.
Just don’t use laxatives (or at least talk to a medical provider before you do) because they can mess things up even more and there may be an easier fix before you go that route.
4. You May Have Heartburn:
Remember that awesome hormone, progesterone that relaxes your uterus so it doesn’t eject your baby like a 007 car? Well, it’s also relaxing a muscle called the lower oesophageal sphincter. This loosening can cause stomach acid to back up into your oesophagus.
Whether it’s called acid indigestion, acid reflex or heartburn, it can feel like you’re gargling battery acid and it’s awful.Thankfully this throat valve goes back to keeping the fires at bay once you’ve given birth.
5. You Might Get Sweaty:
Pregnancy “glow” is often caused by this internal furnace overdrive so hopefully your rosy cheeks and dewy complexion with distract from your wet pits and cleavage-stream. Hey, sometimes you gotta sweat like a pig to look like a fox, right?
6. You Might Wet Your Pants:
It’s fairly common knowledge that women have to pee a lot when they are pregnant. What they don’t always mention is that the control around peeing may be a little compromised as well.
Your bladder sits right under your uterus so as your baby grows, your bladder can’t always take the pressure. The dam usually leaks from abdomen pressure, such as sneezing, coughing or exercising. This is one of the rare cases where “plenty of water” is not recommended as a remedy.
7. Your Gums May Bleed:
Progesterone is the culprit again. Bleeding gums are a fairly common pregnancy side effect and isn’t cause for concern.
It is recommended that you avoid sweets, visit your dentist while you’re pregnant and rinse your mouth with water after you throw up if you have morning sickness.
8. You Might Have a Keener Sense of Smell:
A heightened sense of smell is a charming pregnancy symptom that many think is cute, unless of course it’s you experiencing it and you’re sitting next to a co-worker that smells like B.O. doused in a cologne called “Repulsion”.
It’s caused by estrogen and can really wreak havoc on your gag reflex exacerbating morning sickness.
Suggestions range from chewing gum to avoiding strong smells.
9. You Might Have Bad Gas:
Er, remember how I said progesterone and relaxin slow everything down and loosen everything up? Mmmm, yeah. Well, that includes your gastrointestinal muscles, which slows down your digestion, which forms gas. Gas that could rival a basement full of college guys consuming beer and cabbage in burp form.
10. Your Skin Pigment May Change:
Hormones kick up your melanin cells and they produce more pigment which will darken your freckles, areolas and that charming line that runs down your belly called the linea nigra. It can also go a little nuts with the “tan dial” and cause random blotches on the skin called Chloasma.
This hyperpigmentation tends to be more noticeable in women with darker complexions but it typically fades after you give birth.